Researchers report that early results from a tailored cancer vaccination that employs technology comparable to the Covid vaccines are “very optimistic.”
At the NHS Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, eight patients with head and neck cancer received the vaccine after receiving normal care. None of the patients later experienced a relapse months later. Cancer returned in two individuals in a control group who didn’t get the vaccine, though.
Director of clinical research at the facility and consulting medical oncologist Professor Christian Ottensmeier, The vaccine, known as TG4050, is created by the French company Transgene utilizing the same technology as the Covid vaccination developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Each patient receives a customized vaccine based on DNA identified in their tumours. Following injection, the body is told to produce proteins that are exactly like those that are present on the surface of tumours, inducing an immune response.
Theoretically, T cells then kill any cancer cells exhibiting the same surface proteins that are still in circulation after surgery, preventing cancer from taking hold. “Things we cannot see on scans are visible to the immune system.” It is significantly smarter than people.
“Our patients have a lot better chance of long-term survival if we can teach the immune system to pick out those cells that would otherwise cause a relapse at a time when we can’t even see them. “The trial for head and neck cancer included thirty individuals. As soon as they complete conventional treatment, half of them will receive the vaccination, while the other half won’t get it until they relapse.
Each year, more than 12,000 people in the UK and 65,000 in the US receive a new head and neck cancer diagnosis. Every year, they kill 14,000 Americans and slightly over 4,000 Britons. The mouth and throat are just two of the more than 30 places in the head and neck where cancer can manifest. There is a substantial likelihood that these patients’ tumours will come back.
Because the vaccination is so tailored to the cancer of each individual, doctors feel optimistic about it. Dr Maud Brandely, chief medical officer of Transgene, stated that it gave patients “fresh hope” in the fight against cancer. The mouth and throat are just two of the more than 30 places in the head and neck where cancer can manifest. There is a substantial likelihood that these patients’ tumours will come back.
Because the vaccination is so tailored to the cancer of each individual, doctors feel optimistic about it. Dr Maud Brandely, chief medical officer of Transgene, stated that it gave patients “fresh hope” in the fight against cancer.
