( r and is designed to reprogram the body...)UCSF brain tumor vaccine trial shows promising results

r and is designed to reprogram the body’s immune system to target only cancer cells bearing this fingerprint. The vaccine is intended to leave healthy tissue unaffected and limit the debilitating side effects typically associated with traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Vitespen has been granted fast-track and orphan drug designations from the Food and Drug Administration for both metastatic melanoma (skin cancer) and renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).

Reviewing the presentation at AANS, Henry Brem, MD, director of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, noted, “This is an encouraging study of a therapeutic cancer vaccine that targets multiple tumor antigens, supported by rigorous immuno-monitoring. A larger phase 2 trial is certainly warranted to evaluate efficacy.?Brem is a developer of the first approved local therapy for glioma.

The UCSF clinical trial is a phase1/2 study designed to establish the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of vaccination in patients with recurrent, high-grade glioma. The trial involves two groups of six patients, both of whom receive a minimum of four injections. The first group receives biweekly vaccinations and the second receives weekly vaccinations. Patients are monitored for immune response before, during and after treatment.

The UCSF investigators will continue to follow patients for progression-free survival and overall survival. According to investigators, no adverse events or toxicity identified were considered attributable to the vaccine.

Cheryl Canagelo, a 52-year-old woman from Oakley, Calif., came to UCSF for a second opinion after undergoing radiation and chemotherapy elsewhere for treatment of a glioma. At UCSF she learned that part of the tumor was still present, and she enrolled in the vitespen vaccine trial.

Once the chemotherapy was out of her system, Parsa performed surgery, just four days before C
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Source:University of California - San Francisco

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