Peptide May Treat Breast and Ovarian Cancers

A new class of peptides that appears to trigger a more powerful immune response in vitro than native antigens shows promise in the development of a cancer vaccine directed at the HER-2 antigen. HER-2 is overexpressed in breast and ovarian cancer.

The peptide was discovered by researchers at Genzyme Molecular Oncology (Framingham, MA, USA). The company has been issued a patent covering the peptide's amino acid sequence for potential application in the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers. The peptide was discovered after an uncharacterized T-cell clone was isolated from an ovarian tumor and screened by Genzyme's Sphere, a rapid method of identifying antigens.

Around 50 million peptides were screened for those that could potently activate the clone. The new class of peptides identified has been shown to be one thousand to one million times more active than native peptides in stimulating human T-cells in vitro. A passive immunotherapy approach that uses an antibody against HER-2 is already available for the treatment of certain patients with metastatic breast cancer.

"This novel peptide is significant because it could provide the basis for an active immunotherapy that uses T-cells to attack and destroy cancer cells that overexpress the HER-2 antigen,” said Gail Maderis, president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology. "The clinical utility of HER-2 as a molecular target is already demonstrated.”




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