ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (OTC.BB: IMUC) today announced the results
of a study in which it was shown that certain specific antigens are
highly expressed on cancer stem cells (CSCs). This suggests that IMUC’s
lead cancer vaccine product candidate ICT-107, which targets those
antigens, may effectively target not only the cells that make up the
bulk of certain cancerous tumors, but also the CSCs that are widely
believed to give rise to them and cause their recurrence.
“We believe that the ability to target cancer stem cells is
critical to preventing disease recurrence.”
The CSCs used in IMUC’s study were isolated from the tumors of five
patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and
aggressive type of brain cancer. These CSCs were found to have
significantly higher expressions of three antigens targeted by
ICT-107—Her-2/neu, AIM2, and TRP-2—than the cells that make up the bulk
of the tumor.
“This new evidence that ICT-107 may arm the immune system against cancer
stem cells— in addition to the cells that make up the rest of the
tumor—builds on the strong data from our Phase I study of the vaccine in
glioblastoma,” said John Yu, MD, IMUC’s Chairman and Chief Scientific
Officer. “We believe that the ability to target cancer stem cells is
critical to preventing disease recurrence.”
Manish Singh, PhD, President and CEO of IMUC, added, “Cancer stem cells
are like the roots of weeds—they may be undetectable after the tumor is
resected, but if they are not effectively targeted, the tumor will
almost certainly come back. We believe the ability of ICT-107 to target
cancer stem cells meaningfully differentiates it from other cancer
vaccines in development.”