Results from small pancreatic cancer vaccine trial show promise
Our Head of Research, Dr Madina Kara comments on the results from an early trial which found that seven of the eight people whose immune system responded to a pancreatic cancer vaccine are still alive six years later.
A six-year follow-up for a clinical trial involving 16 patients who were given a personalised vaccine for pancreatic cancer following surgery, has revealed that seven of the eight who responded to the treatment are still alive today.
New treatment options for pancreatic cancer are desperately neeeded. Right now, surgery is the only way to potentially cure pancreatic cancer. However, in over 75% of people, the cancer tragically returns. An mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer aims to prevent the disease from coming back after surgery by training the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
Genentech and BioNTech, the joint developers of the vaccine, have already launched a larger trial, with a recruitment goal of 260 people. The vaccine is also undergoing clinical trials at sites across the world, including Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham which was the first site to recruit in Europe.
"Confirmation of these findings in larger trials could position the vaccine as an important addition to the treatment options for the deadliest common cancer."
Dr Madina Kara, our Head of Research, said:
“For too long, we have had so few treatment options for people with pancreatic cancer. Surgery is currently the only potential cure and yet, tragically, in 75% of cases the cancer reoccurs within a year.
It is really encouraging to see the promising long-term results of this vaccine, which aims to prevent pancreatic cancer coming back after surgery by training the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
This vaccine, which is currently undergoing phase 2 trials at sites around the world including in the UK, could play a vital role in improving survival rates by improving post- surgery recurrence.
We will continue to follow this research with interest. Confirmation of these findings in larger trials could position the vaccine as an important addition to the treatment options for the deadliest common cancer.”
How does this vaccine work?
An mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer uses the same technology as the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, and is custom made for each patient. Tumour and blood samples are collected from a patient undergoing surgery which researchers use to identify the proteins produced by the tumour, not normal healthy cells. These proteins are then used to create a vaccine containing instructions to make cancer proteins.
Once a patient receives the vaccine, their immune system should identify any cancer proteins left behind after surgery as a threat, and destroy them. It also learns to recognise cancer proteins, meaning that if cancer cells start to regrow, the immune system should recognise and destroy them, preventing recurrence.
Similar vaccines are also in development to treat other types of cancer, including bowel cancer and skin cancer.
If clinical trials prove successful, this vaccine could play a pivotal role in improving survival rates by significantly improving the effectiveness of surgery. In future, it is possible that the same technology could be adapted to treat patients with more advanced pancreatic cancer that has started to spread around the body.
