When most people think of a vaccine, they think of a traditional vaccine given to prevent an infectious disease, such as measles, polio, or COVID-19.  In addition to the traditional vaccines, there are two types of cancer vaccines. A preventive cancer vaccine is given to prevent cancer from developing in healthy people. For example, the hepatitis B vaccine is given to children to protect against a hepatitis B viral infection, which can lead to liver cancer. In contrast, a therapeutic cancer vaccine is given to treat an existing cancer by causing a stronger and faster response from the immune system. Most commonly, they are used in patients in remission in an attempt to prevent likely relapse or the cancer from returning.^20,21,22 Therapeutic cancer vaccines are being studied in lung cancer patients. There are currently no FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccines for patients with lung cancer.

Vaccines are commonly associated with preventing infectious diseases like measles, polio, or COVID-19.

However, there are also two types of cancer vaccines.

Preventive cancer vaccines are administered to prevent cancer development in healthy individuals, such as the hepatitis B vaccine, which protects against liver cancer.

On the other hand, therapeutic cancer vaccines are used to treat existing cancer by stimulating a stronger and faster immune response. They are often given to patients in remission to prevent relapse or cancer recurrence.

Although therapeutic cancer vaccines are being studied in lung cancer patients, there are currently no approved options for this purpose.