The Food and Drug Administration last April finally approved Provenge, a prostate cancer vaccine that stimulates the body's own immune system to attack tumors.

Both RCC vaccines are important potential adjuvant treatments in selected patient groups with, as for virtually every cancer vaccine, no important toxicity.

The scientists have developed a plant-based cancer vaccine which is capable of marshalling the body's immune response and they say it can be tailored to suit a patient's specific tumour type.