So far, only one vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat cancer. It is called Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) and is used to treat advanced prostate cancer that has not responded to other treatments.

Why is cancer hard to treat?

This vaccine is unique because it is custom-made. Immune cells are removed from the body and sent to a laboratory, where they are modified to recognize prostate cancer cells. They are then injected back into the body to help the immune system find and destroy cancer cells.


According to a 2021 review in Trusted Sources, researchers are currently developing and testing new vaccines to treat certain types of cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Trusted Source, these vaccines are sometimes tested in combination with established cancer drugs.


Some examples of cancers with vaccines that have been or are currently being tested are:


Cancer Pancreatic cancer

Multiple myeloma


T cell therapy


T cells are a type of immune cell. Their job is to destroy external invaders that your immune system detects.


T-cell therapy involves removing these cells from the body and sending them to a laboratory. The cells that seem to respond most strongly to cancer cells are isolated and grow in large numbers. These T cells are then injected back into your body.


One particular type of T-cell therapy is called CAR T-cell therapy. During treatment, T cells are extracted and modified, adding receptors to their surface. This helps T cells better recognize and destroy cancer cells when they are reintroduced into your body.


As of this writing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved six CAR T-cell therapies from reliable sources. These drugs are used to treat blood cancers, including some types of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.