The possibilities for personalised vaccines in all types of cancer are revealed today in a lecture from Dr Harpreet Singh at the ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland.
“One of the biggest hurdles in cancer immunotherapy is the discovery of appropriate cancer targets that can be recognised by T-cells,” said Singh, who is scientific coordinator of the EU-funded GAPVAC phase I trial which is testing personalised vaccines in glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive brain cancer. “In the GAPVAC trial we will treat glioblastoma patients with vaccines that are ideal for each patient because they contain personalised antigens.”1
For all patients in the GAPVAC study, researchers will identify genes expressed in the tumour, peptides presented on the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) receptor (i.e. peptides which will be seen by T-cells), cancer specific mutations, and the ability of the immune system to mount a response to certain antigens. Based on this information, two vaccines, called actively personalised vaccines (APVACs), will be constructed and administered following conventional surgery.
The first vaccine will be prepared from a warehouse of 72 targets previously identified by the researchers as relevant for treatment in glioblastoma. These peptides have been manufactured and put on the shelf ready to be vaccinated in patients. Patients will be given a cocktail of the peptides they express and which their immune system can mount a response to.
Singh said: “A patient may express 20 of these 72 targets on their tumour, for example. If we find that the patient’s immune system can mount responses to 5 of the 20 targets, we mix the 5 peptides and give them to the patient. We mix the peptides off the shelf but the cocktail is changed for each patient because it is matched to their biomarkers.”
The second vaccine is synthesised de novo based on a mutated peptide expressed in the tumour of the patient. Singh said: “That peptide is not in our warehouse because it just occurs in this one single patient. The patient receives APVAC-1 and APVAC-2 in a highly personalised fashion in a way that I think has never been done for any patient.”
He added: “GAPVAC has two major goals. One is to show that personalised vaccines are feasible, since this is one of the most complicated trials ever done in cancer immunotherapy. The second is to show that we can mount far better biological responses in these patients compared to vaccination with non-personalised antigens.”
Singh’s previous research has shown that vaccination with non-personalised antigens leads to better disease control and longer overall survival in phase I and phase II clinical studies in patients with renal cell cancer.2
Singh said: “For the non-personalised vaccines we used off-the-shelf peptide targets that were shared by many patients with a particular cancer. Using this approach we have successfully vaccinated patients with renal cell cancer, colorectal cancer and glioblastoma.”
He added: “During this research we identified other targets that appeared in very few patients or even, in extreme cases, in a single patient. Often these rarer peptides are of better quality, meaning they are more specifically seen in cancer cells and occur at higher levels. This led us to start developing personalised cancer vaccines which contain the ideal set of targets for one particular patient. We hope they will be even more effective than the off-the-shelf vaccines.”
The Latest on: Personalised Vaccines
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Personalised Vaccines” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Personalised Vaccines
- British Man Tests First Personalized Melanoma Vaccineon April 30, 2024 at 4:04 am
A trial of the world's premier "personalized" mRNA vaccine targeting melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has commenced in the UK, marking a significant stride in oncological research and ...
- AstraZeneca’s Covid Vaccine Can Cause TTS In Very Rare Cases. What You Need To Knowon April 29, 2024 at 2:26 pm
According to the London-based newspaper The Telegraph, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has admitted its Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine can cause thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS). The ...
- Personalized Melanoma Vaccine Could Be a ‘Game Changer’ by Teaching the Body to Fight Cancer Cellson April 29, 2024 at 1:28 pm
The mRNA therapy, designed to prevent treated skin cancer from returning, is entering its third phase of trials ...
- U.K. Tests World-First Personalized Skin Cancer Vaccineon April 26, 2024 at 9:08 am
Customized with genetic information from a patient’s own tumor, vaccines like this could one day be used against lung, kidney, bladder and colon cancer.
- New cancer vaccine: Doctor explains all you need to knowon April 26, 2024 at 6:39 am
A doctor has explained more about the world's first personalised mRNA cancer jab for melanoma, which is currently being tested in British patients. Doctor Amir Khan described the vaccine as “positive ...
- What is the skin cancer vaccine undergoing trials?on April 26, 2024 at 5:49 am
Doctors have begun phrase III trials for the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma. Melanoma is one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, affecting about 132,000 people a year ...
- Giving Hope: All about the world's first personalised melanoma vaccine tested in the UKon April 26, 2024 at 5:34 am
The world’s first-ever personalised mRNA vaccine for melanoma is being tested on British patients. It is a custom-built jab for people created using the specific genetic makeup of their tumour ...
- Revolutionary Cancer Vaccine Doubles Survival Rates, Igniting New Hopeon April 26, 2024 at 5:17 am
A promising new personalized mRNA vaccine for melanoma is being tested in Britain. This custom-made vaccine offers hope for a cure and is undergoing final stage trials at UCLH.
- ‘Real hope’ for cancer cure as personal mRNA vaccine for melanoma trialledon April 26, 2024 at 3:07 am
Excitement among patients and researchers as custom-built jabs enter phase 3 trial ...
- I took the world-first personalised cancer vaccine - it's my only hope of stopping deadly disease in its trackson April 26, 2024 at 1:21 am
Music teacher Steve Young is among the first patients to receive a world-first personalised cancer vaccine, with revolutionary jab representing his 'best chance' of stopping the disease.
via Bing News