Experimental vaccine may prevent recurrence of cancer
In a recent press release, UCLA Health announced that in a phase 1 clinical trial, which was backed by the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers tested a cancer vaccine that can 'trigger powerful and lasting immune responses and may help prevent or delay cancer recurrence in high-risk patients whose tumors are driven by KRAS mutations.' The vaccine was tested on 25 patients who had received treatment for colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer.
According to the UCLA Health press release, the patients who participated in the study completed surgery to have their tumors removed and showed 'signs of minimal residual disease,' which indicated that they had a high risk of cancer recurrence.
The UCLA Health press release noted that 21 of the 25 patients generated 'KRAS-specific T cells,' which suggests a stronger immune response than typical cancer patients. Cancer patients with higher T-cell responses exhibited 'longer relapse-free survival' compared to patients with lower T-cell responses. Additionally, the biomarkers for the cancer of three pancreatic cancer and three colorectal patients who received the vaccine appeared to be completely removed, according to UCLA Health.
READ MORE: Pics: Child cancer survivor DJ Daniel diagnosed with 3 new tumors, White House says
Researchers explained that a majority of the patients who displayed the strongest immune response remained free of cancer almost 20 months after receiving the cancer vaccine.
'This is an exciting advance for patients with KRAS-driven cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, where recurrence after standard treatment is almost a given and effective therapies are limited,' Zez Wainberg, M.D., a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the author of the recent study, said. 'We observed that patients who developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained disease-free and survived for much longer than expected.'
The recent UCLA Health press release noted that 67% of the patients tested for the cancer vaccine developed 'immune responses to additional tumor-associated mutations.' Researchers suggested that the development of the immune responses indicated the potential for 'broader anti-tumor activity.'
'Targeting KRAS has long been considered one of the difficult challenges in cancer therapy,' Wainberg stated. 'This study shows that the ELI-002 2P vaccine can safely and effectively train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer-driving mutations. It offers a promising approach to generating precise and durable immune responses without the complexity or cost of fully personalized vaccines.'
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The vaccine, which targets those mutations, was given via a series of injections to activate an immune response in the lymph nodes. Advertisement 4 A phase 1 clinical trial indicates that a vaccine may prevent pancreatic and colorectal cancer from coming back. InsideCreativeHouse – A majority (21 out of 25) of the patients generated 'KRAS-specific T cells,' which indicates a stronger immune response. The ones with higher T-cell responses showed a longer relapse-free survival compared to those with lower responses, the researchers found. For three colorectal cancer patients and three pancreatic cancer patients, the vaccine appeared to remove all disease biomarkers. Among the patients who showed the strongest immune response, a majority were still cancer-free nearly 20 months after receiving the vaccine. Advertisement 4 The vaccine appeared to remove all disease biomarkers for three colorectal cancer patients out of the 25 pancreatic and colorectal cancer patients that were part of the trial. Jo Panuwat D – The findings were published in Nature Medicine. 'This is an exciting advance for patients with KRAS-driven cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, where recurrence after standard treatment is almost a given and effective therapies are limited,' said first author of the study, Zev Wainberg, M.D., professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and researcher in the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, in the release. 'We observed that patients who developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained disease-free and survived for much longer than expected.' Advertisement 4 'We observed that patients who developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained disease-free and survived for much longer than expected,' Zev Wainberg, M.D., the first author of the study, said. manassanant – 'The new cancer vaccine from UCLA is very promising as a major tool against these cancers.' In another finding, 67% of the patients in the trial showed immune responses to 'additional tumor-associated mutations,' indicating that the vaccine could be used to suppress 'broader anti-tumor activity.' One of the benefits of ELI-002 2P, according to the researchers, is that it's considered 'off-the-shelf,' which means it's a mass-produced, standardized vaccine that doesn't have to be personalized for each individual patient. 'This study shows that the ELI-002 2P vaccine can safely and effectively train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer-driving mutations,' Wainberg said. 4 67% of the patients in the trial showed immune responses to 'additional tumor-associated mutations,' indicating that the vaccine could be used to suppress 'broader anti-tumor activity.' – 'It offers a promising approach to generating precise and durable immune responses without the complexity or cost of fully personalized vaccines.' The team has already finished enrolling participants for a phase 2 study that will test ELI-002 7P, the next iteration of the vaccine that will target a 'broader set' of KRAS mutations, the release stated. Advertisement The study was sponsored and funded by Elicio Therapeutics, the Massachusetts company that developed the vaccine. It was conducted in conjunction with the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study but commented that targeted therapies are becoming increasingly important tools in the fight against cancer. Advertisement 'Solid tumors, especially pancreatic, can be difficult to treat because they are not as mutagenic (capable of inducing or causing mutations) as hematological malignancies (blood cancers) or melanoma, for example, so they don't have as many ready targets for immunotherapy,' he told Fox News Digital. 'The new cancer vaccine from UCLA is very promising as a major tool against these cancers, as it 'programs' the immune system to target these mutations and has been shown in the NATURE study to elicit a strong clinical response.'
