We use vaccines for a lot of different diseases, and very recently, vaccines have been used for cancer (except the vaccines would be given after the patients have cancer instead of before). One group has had great clinical success in patients who's cancers have stopped responding to chemotherapy. The group explains that T cells can already detect and attack cancerous cells in the body, it's just that their response is too slow and not aggresive enough. In response, this group took these T-cells and genetically engineered them to be specific to the cancer type the respective patients had, and then re-introduced these T-cells into the patients. While this group boasts a 94% success rate with 35 patients, they state the caveat that this therapy should not be used until all other therapies have been explored due to it's potential severe side effects (1).

^{_{However, the article I really want to highlight is by Kranz et al. who recently published in nature for taking a huge step towards the very first "Universal cancer vaccine". What's interesting about this group's approach, is that rather than take out T cells, engineer them, and re-introduce them into the body, they've created "darts" (RNAlipoplexes) that they can "shoot" into the body that contain RNA from a patient's specific cancer which will ultimately charge the T-cells, making them specific for cancer cells. Consquently, if this therapy can be optimized and deemed safe and effective for patients, then these darts can potentially be used for any cancer (all you'd have to do is put that cancer's RNA into the RNAlipoplexes).}} 

^{_{This therapy is still in it's early stages, only in phase I clinical trials thus far, but future implications are quite exciting (2-3).}}

1.) http://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-claim-unprecedented-success-treating-cancer-with-t-cells

2.) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v534/n7607/full/nature18300.html

3.) http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-making-serious-progress-on-a-universal-cancer-vaccine