Could a new vaccine help prevent colorectal recurrence of pancreatic cancer?

For this study, which included monitoring data of the AMPLIFY-201-201-Phase 1 trial, the researchers recruited 25 participants with colon or pancreas cancer, which had undergone surgery and have always shown traces of DNA DNA in their blood, which is an indicator of potential cancer relapse.

Participants received injections from Eli-002 2p – A “standard” or standardized vaccine that can revive the body’s immune system so that it recognizes and attacks cancer cells in general.

“We have adopted a unique approach in Amplifly-2011101, using a diagnosis that detects circulating tumor DNA (CTDNA) and tests that identify a tumor protein, CA19-9, in the blood, to identify patients who show signs of minimum residual disease in their UCLA blood and UCLA Health Jonsson Cancer study, explained for Medical news today.

“This group of pancreatic patients in historical studies really required better treatment, because their median time until the relapse was historically only five to six months. The study also scored five patients with colorectal cancer, who also presented us with a high risk of relapse with positive tests to tumor in the blood, “he said Wainberg.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that after a follow -up of almost 20 months, the average survival without relapse of the participants was 16.33 months and the average overall survival was almost 29 months.

“It is much longer than the historical results of these patients,” said Wainberg.

Scientists indicated that 24% of participants experienced complete compensation for biomarkers associated with their tumors. And 67% of participants developed immune responses to other changes related to the tumor.

“Kras targeting has long been considered one of the difficult challenges of cancer therapy,” Wainberg said in a press release, noting that:

“This study shows that the ELI-002 2P vaccine can safely and effectively train the immune system to recognize and combat cancer mutations. It offers a promising approach to generate precise and durable immune responses without the complexity or cost of fully personalized vaccines. ”

Anton Bilchik, MD, PHD, surgical oncologist, chief of medicine and director of the gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary program of providence Saint John’s Cancer Institute of Santa Monica, California, said Mnt The fact that these results are very exciting and very important, since pancreatic cancer is fatal cancer and that treatments, while being more effective than they were 10 years ago, are still relatively ineffective in terms of healing patients with pancreatic cancer.

“Secondly, immunotherapy has really not proven to be effective in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and has proven to be effective only in a very small subset of patients with advanced colon cancer,” added Bilchik, who was not involved in the study.

“So the fact that this study shows a T cells-The vaccinations based on survival in patients with pancreas and colon cancer are innovative, is very exciting and certainly opens up the possibilities of immunotherapy as an effective treatment possible for fatal cancer, in particular pancreatic cancer, “he continued.

Although this study is important, Bilchik said it was only the tip of the iceberg, with more studies to do, including some examining if this vaccine could be able to help prevent cancer in the first place.

“So, before people have a chance to get pancreatic cancer, if they undergo a blood test that shows tumor cells or shows that they are at risk of obtaining these cancers, would this type of vaccine prevent them from making cancer? He asked.

Mnt He also spoke with Usman Shah, MD, medical director of gastrointestinal oncology at the Overlook Medical Medical Medical Center in Atlantic Health in Summit, New Jersey, about this study.

Shah, who was not involved in research, said that he had reviewed the results with enthusiasm and careful optimism.

“In this trial, patients with a minimum residual disease-as evidenced by biomarkers like CA19-9, CEAand / or the circulating tumor DNA – were treated with ELI – 002, a cancer vaccine targeting KRAS mutations, “said Shah.

“This phase 1 study has shown that 68% of participants have developed robust responses from T lymphocytes, which was important to correlate with survival without relapse and considerably improved overall survival. As this approach uses a standard vaccine approach, it can be more accessible to more patients in a shorter time than personalized vaccine treatments. ”

– Usman Shah, MD

“The importance of developing new approaches to KRAS-focused cancers cannot be overestimated, because KRAS mutations are widespread in several solid tumors and are associated with a bad prognosis,” he continued. “For example, 90 to 95% of pancreatic cancers are home to a KRAS mutation. The capacity of ELI – 002 to induce solid and sustainable immune responses offers a potential strategy to prevent recurrence of cancer in high -risk patients. ”

“The first clues of the randomized amplify-7P trial evaluating this approach against the standard of care are encouraging, although the final results are pending,” added Shah. “Continuous investment in such innovative approaches is essential to improve results for patients with Kras-Mutant cancer.”