A Phase 1 clinical trial has demonstrated the feasibility and potential of a personalized cancer vaccine (PCV) targeting renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The study, published in Nature, explores how individualized vaccines, designed to train the immune system to recognize a patient's unique tumor mutations (neoantigens), could enhance anti-tumor responses when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
Each patient’s tumor was genetically analyzed to identify neoantigens, which are mutations exclusive to cancer cells.
The selected neoantigens were formulated into a vaccine designed to activate the patient's T-cells against cancer.
The vaccine was administered alongside checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as anti-PD-1 therapies, to enhance the immune system’s ability to attack tumors.
Immune Response Monitoring: Scientists measured how well neoantigen-specific T-cells expanded and targeted cancer cells after vaccination.
Most patients developed a robust T-cell activation against the selected tumor antigens.
Some participants experienced tumor shrinkage or stable disease, indicating that the immune response had a functional impact.
The vaccine was well tolerated, with manageable immune-related side effects similar to those seen with existing immunotherapies.
"At a median follow-up of 40.2 months after surgery, none of the 9 participants enrolled in the study had a recurrence of RCC. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. ", not bad at all for a kind of cancer that tends to have frequent recurrences.
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