pancreas cancer : Pancreatic cancer vaccine shows promise

More than 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and about the same number die. Chances of surviving more than five years with this disease are low, but researchers at Johns Hopkins University hope to reverse that trend with a new vaccine.

The vaccine uses genetically altered cells to create a molecule. The molecule lures immune cells and retrains them to recognize the tumor as cancer and fight it.

So far, the results have been encouraging. With the vaccine, 76 percent of patients are alive after two years -- compared to 42 percent of patients who only received chemotherapy and radiation.

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