Doctor says cancer vaccine has ‘really hopeful’ results

In the UK, doctors say early results from a potential cancer vaccine are “really hopeful”. The formula is built in a personal way, from the DNA of the tumor that must be fought. With this specificity, the immune system response is expected to be better and more effective against cancer cells.

Currently, the vaccine is only applied to patients who are part of a clinical trial and who have previously been diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Currently, the option is being tested in a complementary way to conventional treatment, as the idea is to see if an immunizing agent can reduce the risk of recurrence of this type of tumor. For this tumor, the chances of it returning are usually high.

Studies with a personalized cancer vaccine

Positive – and preliminary – results for a personalized cancer vaccine were obtained, from tumor DNA, in a study led by the team of doctors and scientists at Clatterbridge Cancer Center in the UK.

To date, none of the eight patients who used the vaccine has been diagnosed with a tumor recurrence. On the other hand, the cancer returned in two of the eight patients who had not been immunized with the experimental formulation.

Currently, the study numbers are too small to draw strong statistical conclusions. However, the team’s doctors are optimistic about the results. “I’m really optimistic,” Christian Ottenmaier, director of clinical research at the British Centre, explained in an interview with the website. Sky News. “All the data point in the right direction,” he adds.

In addition to the British arm of the research, another small clinical trial of the vaccine is underway in volunteers with ovarian cancer in France and the United States. According to officials, the initial results are also positive.

How does the oncology formula work?

Officially, the personal vaccine is called TG4050 and was developed by the French pharmaceutical company Transgene. The technology used in the immune system is that of the viral vector. This means that a genetically modified virus is used and parts of it are included that allow the immune system to identify the pathogen.

The same technology is used in some vaccines against COVID-19, such as AstraZeneca and Janssen Formula (Johnson & Johnson). In the case of the cancerous version, scientists add parts of the patient’s own tumor to the virus. Therefore, the vaccine is understood as a personalized treatment, since each version will have slight differences.

When the genetically modified virus is injected into the body, researchers expect it to “train” the immune system to be on the lookout for cancer cells in that tumor. If recurring, these white blood cells can destroy the tumor at an early stage, even before a mass is present.

source: Sky News And the Clatterbridge Cancer Center