Vaccine Increases Survival of Melanoma Patients

A study has shown that a cancer vaccine, following surgical removal of all clinically detectable disease, significantly increased the overall survival in patients with stage III melanoma. The study was published in the Annals of Surgery (2002; Vol.236, No.4).

Involved in the study were 2,602 patients who underwent complete lymphadenectomy for the treatment of stage III melanoma. Of these, 935 received post-surgical treatment with the Canvaxin vaccine, while 1,667 received other or no adjuvant therapy. Median overall survival of the vaccine-treated group was 56.4% months, compared to 31.9 months for the unvaccinated group. Five-year overall survival of the vaccinated group was 49%, compared to 37% for the unvaccinated group. The analyses were performed by researschers at the John Wayne Cancer Institute (Santa Monica, CA, USA).

The vaccine is currently being evaluated in two international phase III trials in patients with stage III and stage IV melanoma who have had all clinically detectable melanoma surgically removed. The vaccine was developed by CancerVax Corp. (Carlsbad, CA, USA; www.cancervax.com). Its core technology is based on the development of allogeneic whole-cell vaccines, which express multiple antigens associated with melanoma and other solid tumors. The company also plans to evaluate Canvaxin for the treatment of advanced-stage colon cancer.




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