According to the American Cancer Society, more than 192, 000 men are diagnosed with the disease each year and more than 27,000 die from it. Provenge, which doe not prevent cancer, though has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first vaccine to treat prostrate cancer or any cancer and the culmination of decades of research into harnessing the immune system to fight tumors.

Philip Kant off of Boston Dana Farber Cabcre Institute, primary investigator of a study of 512 men, says, “After three years, 32% of men given Provenge were alive, compared with 23% given a placebo. That's a significant benefit for men with such advanced disease, who would otherwise live only about 22 months, he says.

In comparison, a chemotherapy drug called docetaxel — the standard treatment for men whose tumors don't respond to hormone therapies — helps patients live about 2.4 months longer”. He also added, “The series of three shots are custom-made; using a patient's own cells, and are designed to train the immune system to recognize and kill malignant cells”.

Kant off says, “It's really a very exciting point in time. It's significant for prostate cancer patients. And it's exciting from the global standpoint of opening up a whole new area of research that people have been working on for many years”.

The vaccine will cost $93,000 for the series of three shots, Denderon, the vaccine’s maker. Research shows that many health plans are raising out of pocket costs to help cover these expenses. Researchers found that when cancer drugs get too expensive , patients simply abandon them.