Final answer:
Provenge (sipuleucel-T) is a therapeutic vaccine used to treat metastatic prostate cancer. It works by enhancing the patient's own immune response against cancer cells. Other therapeutic vaccines employ different strategies, such as directly injecting modified viruses into cancer cells or using treated cancer cells to amplify the immune response.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Provenge (sipuleucel-T) vaccine is specifically approved for treating certain cases of metastatic prostate cancer. This therapeutic vaccine, which gained FDA approval in 2010, is personalized for each patient by using their own cells. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) are extracted from the patient, cultured with a tumor-specific molecule, and then reintroduced into the body. This method aims to bolster the immune system's response against cancer cells. Additionally, the T-VEC or Imlygic vaccine, approved in 2015, treats melanoma by injecting a modified virus directly into tumors, subsequently causing an immune response that attacks not just the injected tumors but also distant lesions.
Preventative cancer vaccines aim to prevent cancer from developing by targeting specific viruses, like HPV, which can lead to cancer. In contrast, therapeutic cancer vaccines, like Provenge, are administered after cancer has been diagnosed, with the goal of triggering the immune system to fight the existing cancer. Another therapeutic vaccine approach against malignant melanoma and renal cell carcinoma involves injecting treated cancer cells to stimulate a robust anti-cancer immune response.