January 30, 2009 - BY TINA JOHANSSON - Special to the News-Sun

ZION -- A clinical trial at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center raises hope of finding a cure for ovarian cancer -- the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women.

On Thursday, Natalie Neuman of Glenwood got the first-ever vaccine designed to turn cancer cells into cancer fighters.

"The use of a systematic vaccine to sensitize the patient's immune system to fight their own tumors following localized, high-dose chemotherapy has not been attempted before," said Donald Braun, vice president of clinical research at CTCA.

Neuman, 41, an environmental consultant who was diagnosed in 2007, is optimistic about the procedure.

"I am hopeful this vaccine will put me into remission for the first time since diagnosis," Neumann said. "I hope the vaccine works as we all wish and will provide the clues that lead to a cure in the near future."

In order to participate in the trial, patients must be in the later stages of the cancer and have tumor progression despite chemotherapy regimens.

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