For years, cancer treatment has been very invasive and often created difficulties for patients. Today, we are on the path to a breakthrough that could redefine typical cancer treatments, one that could and will save thousands of people at risk. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), despite considerable efforts to develop better treatments, more than 7.6 million people worldwide died from cancer alone in 2013, and this number increases each year (CDC 2014). . It is unlikely that there will ever be a single cure for all cancers. It is important to note that the term cancer refers to a broad class of diseases, because cancers have many different origins and must be treated differently. Can the immune system be trained to effectively treat or prevent certain cancers? First, a look to the past to see where this theory came from and where it takes us today, a look to the future where vaccines and potential cures could be the medical breakthrough of the century. For years, cancer treatment has been very invasive and often created difficulties for patients. Today, we are on the path to a breakthrough that could redefine typical cancer treatments, one that could and will save thousands of people at risk. There is a therapy that, instead of involving chemicals, radiation, or surgery, essentially trains your immune system to recognize cancer cells and attack them. This is called immunotherapy. Although it is still in its infancy, it has made great strides in clinical trials around the world. Using the immune system to treat and prevent disease is not a new concept, until the immune system is fully developed. understood that a doctor made surprising observations in the late 1800s. William...... middle of article...... treatments using immunotherapy as a treatment. Works Cited Cheever MA, Higano CS. PROVENGE (Sipuleucel-T) in prostate cancer: the first therapeutic cancer vaccine approved by the FDA. Clinical Cancer Research: An Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Lollini PL, Cavallo F, Nanni P, Forni G. Vaccines for tumor prevention. Comments on nature. Cancer. 2006 Enger, Eldon et al. Concepts in Biology '2007 Ed.2007 Edition. McGraw-Hill. McCarthy EF. William B. Coley's Toxins and the Treatment of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas. Iowa Orthop J. 2006 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3721379/ http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/WorldCancerDay/ http://www .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1888599/Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Trials – CRI http://www.cancerresearch.org/cancer-immunotherapy/about-clinical-trials#sthash.XJ5PMLXp.dpuf