Personalized vaccine used to battle skin cancer

Doctors are working on a personalized vaccine that could stop skin cancer in its tracks.

By sequencing a person's genome, researchers at Washington University can identify which cells are cancerous. A personalized vaccine is then made to help the immune system identify those cells and destroy them.

The vaccine is given three times intravenously every six weeks.

Dr. Gerald Linette, an oncologist at Washington University, believes this same type of personalized cancer vaccine could also work on other cancers in lungs, breasts and kidneys.

The next step is a larger clinical trial and, if everything works out, personalized vaccines could be used to fight cancers in the next five to 10 years.

For more details, watch Denise Dador's report in the video above.