An experimental cancer vaccine has shown promising results in keeping pancreatic and colorectal cancers from coming back.
In a clinical trial led by the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, researchers tested the vaccine on 25 patients who had previously been treated for pancreatic and colorectal cancers.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, and pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3 percent of all cancers in the country.
Researchers found that the vaccine, named ELI-002 2P, could trigger lasting immune responses and may help prevent or delay cancer recurrence in high-risk patients whose tumors are driven by KRAS mutations, which are responsible for half of colorectal cancers and more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancers, researchers noted.
When they followed up with patients after more than a year, they found the average relapse-free survival was 16 months and the average overall survival was 28 months — both exceeding historical norms — with the greatest benefit seen in patients who developed strong mKRAS-specific T cell responses after getting the vaccine.
Dr. Thomas Marron, an oncologist who was not involved with the study, told NewsNation the results are “extremely promising,” as both cancers typically have a high risk of recurrence.
“This vaccine is about teaching patients’ immune systems how to recognize and attack those tiny amounts of cancer cells so that they keep them from coming back, increasing the likelihood that we can cure patients with surgery and chemotherapy or radiation,” Marron said.
Marron said UCLA’s vaccine could become available within the coming years.
Researchers are currently working on a second trial phase for ELI-002 7P, a newer version of the vaccine that seeks to target a broader variety of KRAS mutations.
