Cancer Vaccine Triggers Immune System in Ovarian Cancer Trial

A therapeutic ovarian cancer vaccine has shown promise in a phase I clinical trial.

While most women with advanced stage ovarian cancer respond to first-line chemotherapy, more than 70% of patients die of recurrent disease within five years of diagnosis, highlighting the need for additional therapeutic options. The goal of therapeutic cancer vaccines is to stimulate the body's antitumor immune response to help rid the body of cancerous cells remaining after primary treatment and potentially extend remission.

The experimental vaccine studied in this clinical trial contains a foreign molecule known to trigger an immune response, combined with a piece of a protein, called NY-ESO-1, that is expressed in many ovarian tumors.

Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the departments of gynecologic oncology and immunology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI; Buffalo, NY, USA), together with collaborators from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (New York, NY, USA), evaluated this vaccine in women with epithelial ovarian cancer, a cancer type that originates in the covering of the ovaries.

The researchers discovered that the vaccine induced antibody and T cell responses in patients, and that vaccine-induced T cells were able to recognize NY-ESO-1-expressing tumor cells. "Further, we detected vaccine-induced immune cells in patients up to 12 months after immunization, suggesting a long-lasting effect,” according to Dr. Odunsi.

Based on the encouraging results from the trial, the scientists suggest that this or a similar vaccine should be further evaluated as immunotherapy for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

The study's findings were published in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences, July 23-27, 2007.


Related Links:
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Roswell Park Cancer Institute