By Emma Hitt, PhD
MIAMI (Reuters Health) – A melanoma vaccine designed to be specific to a patient's tumor appears to be effective and safe, according to new preliminary findings.
Dr. Giorgio Parmiani, with the Instituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori in Milan, Italy, and colleagues presented details of the research on Wednesday at the American Association for Cancer Research Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting in Miami Beach, Florida.
The vaccine, called HSPPC-96 (Oncophage; Antigenics, New York, NY) is derived from heat-shock proteins, which are bound to other proteins specific to each patient's tumor. According to researchers, this complex, when purified from tumor cells and reintroduced to the patient, can stimulate cellular immunity.
In their study of 45 metastatic melanoma patients, the researchers observed complete responses in 2 of 28 patients with measurable disease after surgery and long-lasting stable disease in 3 others. Furthermore, of the 11 patients who showed no signs of disease after surgery, 3 had long-term disease-free survival.
"No toxic effects were associated with the vaccination, not even local irritation at the site of the injection," Dr. Parmiani commented in a press release. According to Dr. Parmiani, the response to treatment appeared to be directly associated with the strength of the immune response in the patients.
"If you consider most other studies of melanoma vaccines, the clinical response of this vaccine is not much different," Dr. Parmiani told Reuters Health during a press conference. "But compared to other melanoma vaccines, there is a more strict correlation between clinical response and immune response against the tumor," he said.
"This study reinforces previous data that demonstrate the role of heat shock proteins in generating a strong immune response," he said.
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