Cancer Vaccine Developed at OSU Proves Effective and Safe in Phase I Human Trials

A cancer vaccine developed by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute has shown evidence of being effective and safe in a phase I clinical trials.  The vaccine targets a protein called HER-2, which is present at abnormally high levels in about one-third of breast cancers and in other cancer types. Its presence generally signals a poor response to therapy and a high likelihood that a cancer will recur. 

Of the 24 patients in the study, six showed clinical benefit, with one experiencing tumor shrinkage, while five others experienced disease stabilization. Findings of the trial suggest that the vaccine might benefit 60 percent of all cancer patients with solid tumors.  Further, the vaccine is shown to cause few negative side effects. 

New data related to the vaccine’s molecular structure has enabled production of an improved, second-generation version, and the National Cancer Institute has provided funding for a new phase I trial to test the improved vaccine in humans. That trial is set to begin in July 2010 and will target breast, ovarian, lung, colon, pancreatic and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Findings from the study were recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.  For more details, download the release from OSU.