A personalized vaccine for patients with glioblastoma produced a safe and effective immune response, according to a study published May 12 in Nature Cancer.
A phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine was conducted at St. Louis-based Siteman Cancer Center and co-led by researchers from St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine and Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham.
Here are three notes on the study:
- The vaccine uses engineered DNA molecules to activate the immune system to seek out and eliminate up to 40 cancer proteins unique to each patient’s tumor, a May 12 news release from WashU Medicine said.
- Glioblastoma tumors hide from the immune system, making them harder to treat. The vaccine was able to transform the tumors, making them more susceptible to eradication, the release said.
- Of the nine adult patients enrolled in the trial, two-thirds had no cancer progression six months after surgery, two-thirds survived one year and one-third survived two years.
One patient is alive and remains cancer free today, about five years since her diagnosis.
Read the full study here.
