Doing something to support the immune system response has always been
indicated in cancer research, while mastering the art, quite another
story. This appears to be promising although the first clear goal is
simply life extension which seems plausible. The real problem
appears to be the lack of an actual curative pathway here.
Of course chemo suffers from much the same fault in that it is a crap
shoot to actually be cured when the body's defenses are badly beaten
down.
This at least appears to be reinvigorating the immune system as part
of the attack. This should produce superior results.
Kidney Cancer
Vaccine Successful in Clinical Trials
University of Tübingen
researchers present findings in Nature Medicine
Researchers at the
University of Tübingen and immatics biotechnologies GmbH – a
start-up by Tübingen scientists – have published the results of
two clinical studies using the kidney-cancer vaccine IMA901 in the
latest edition of Nature Medicine.
IMA901 is used to
treat patients with cancer of the kidneys. It is composed of ten
synthetic tumor-associated peptides (TUMAPs), which activate the
body’s own killer T-cells against the tumor. Unlike chemotherapy,
this process targets the body’s immune responses and mobilizes them
to attack the cancer. The studies show that this active immunization
against cancer can be successful and extend the life of a patient for
longer than even the latest chemotherapy techniques – with far
fewer side-effects.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg
Rammensee, head of Immunology at the University of Tübingen and
co-founder of immatics biotechnologies, says: “This work is a
milestone in the development of cancer immune therapies. The
principle applied here – of active immunization against cancer
antigens previously identified in cancer cells – can be used
against practically all types of cancer. University of Tübingen
researchers have published similarly successful clinical studies in
the case of bowel cancer, also in collaboration with immatics, and
prostate cancer. Immatics is currently carrying out studies on
treatments for glioblastoma [a common and malignant brain tumor] and
further studies for treating liver cancer and ovarian carcinoma are
in the pipeline.”
Prof. Dr. Arnulf
Stenzl, head of Urology at the University Hospitals, who supervised
the clinical studies, explains: “All of the medications
previously used have brought about a clear improvement in reducing
tumor growth in cancer of the kidneys, but they did not lead to the
desired extension of the patient’s life and certainly did not cure
the patient. So from the clinical point of view, the
further development by immatics of active immunization in combination
with a low dose of one-off chemotherapy is a significant step
in the treatment of kidney cell carcinoma – and possibly other
malignant tumors as well.”
One particular aspect
of this kidney cancer study is its uniquely exhaustive analysis of
the immune response against the cancer antigens – done with the
help of biomarkers. In particular, the characteristics of the white
blood cells involved were precisely detailed during the course of the
immunization. Complex logistics were required to get these cells
frozen and transported to Tübingen from study centers all over
Europe, while ensuring they were in a fit state to be analyzed.
The study shows that
in kidney-cancer patients with documented T-cell reactions against
two or more tumor-associated peptides, the immune reaction and
clinical progress were clearly linked. That confirms the hypothesis
that cancer treatments can be further developed by broadly activating
the immune system against various target structures on the surface of
the tumor.
The article also
describes the researchers’ aims of identifying biomarkers which
could help give a more accurate prediction of how long certain groups
of patients may live after being treated with IMA901. An analysis of
more than 300 potential biomarkers turned up a number of them which
are currently being tested in a new phase-3 study by immatics for
their ability to show an immune response and the extension of patient
life after treatment with IMA901.
Publication: “Multipeptide
immune response to cancer vaccine IMA901 after single-dose
cyclophosphamide associates with longer survival times,” Walter S.,
Weinschenk T. et al. (2012) Nature Medicine. Published online: 29
July 2012
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