Cancer Vaccine Collaborative Launched

A research program to improve the way cancer vaccines are developed has been formed by a network of investigators from six New York (NY, USA) medical centers, who are working together as the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) to conduct a series of early-stage clinical trials on cancer vaccines. The CVC was launched at the International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium in New York by two New York research groups: the Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org) and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (www.licr.org).

The CVC will test vaccines for several cancer types, including melanoma, sarcoma, and nonsmall cell lung, ovarian, prostate, and bladder cancers. All share the cancer/testis antigen NY-ESO-1, a special marker found almost exclusively in cancer cells. In certain tumors, the marker can become abnormally expressed, acting as a highly specific target for immune cells to attack. Although antigens alone do not elicit a strong enough response to destroy tumors, the researchers hope that vaccinating cancer patients with NY-ESO-1 can help the immune system finish the job.

The participating investigators include researchers from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York Weill Cornell Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and New York University Cancer Institute.

Unlike conventional vaccine trials, where data from one trial are often incomparable to data from another because of uncontrolled variables, CVC trials will use standardized tests to evaluate different ways to deliver the same vaccine agent. This methodology will allow for direct comparison with other CVC trials and show why certain vaccine strategies might result in a more robust immune response while others might not. The studies will be coordinated and conducted in parallel with each other rather than sequentially.

"Testing different vaccine strategies at one time will allow us to more quickly identify the most promising anticancer therapies,” said Dr. Eric Hoffman, director of clinical trials at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. "And because all the research is done using the same methods and techniques, the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative will ensure that data from one trial site can be readily and confidently compared to that of another site.”




Related Links:
Cancer Research Institute
Ludwig Institute