Soon a vaccine that targets 90% of all cancers

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDApr 10 2012

A new vaccine that targets a molecule in 90 per cent of all cancers is in the pipeline and is being tested on humans for the first time.

Results from the safety trial - on patients with blood cancer - found all had greater immunity to the disease after receiving the vaccine. Three of the seven patients who have completed the treatment are now free of the condition.

The vaccine is a therapeutic one and is made to be given to patients to help their bodies fight cancer rather than the majority - known as prophylactic vaccines - that aim to prevent disease in the first place. Researchers believe the jab could also tackle breast, prostate, pancreatic, bowel and ovarian cancers. Even tumors that resist treatment with the best medicines on the market, including the breast cancer ‘wonder drug’ Herceptin, may be susceptible to the vaccine they claim.

Rather than attacking cancer cells, like many drugs, the new treatment harnesses the power of the immune system to fight tumors. Researchers from the drug company Vaxil Biotheraputics and Tel Aviv University have focused on a protein called MUC1 that is made in bigger amounts in cancerous cells than in healthy ones. Not only is there more of it, but a sugar that it is ‘decorated’ with has a distinctive shape. The vaccine ‘trains’ the immune system to recognize the rogue sugar and turn its arsenal against the cancer. The misshaped MUC1 sugar is found in 90 per cent of all cancers. There have been ‘dramatic’ results in tests on mice with breast tumors. Now, Vaxil Biotheraputics have announced promising results in a human safety trial.

More than 300,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed in Britain each year and the disease kills around half this number annually. If all goes well, the vaccine – called ImMucin – could be on the market by 2020.

Ten patients suffering from multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, have now received the vaccine received the vaccine at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem. Seven of the patients have finished the treatment and Vaxil reported that all of them had greater immunity against cancer cells compared to before they were given the vaccine. Of the seven, three patients are reportedly free of detectable cancer. None of them have reported suffering side-effects apart from minor irritation.

A statement from Vaxil Biotheraputics said, “ImMucin generated a robust and specific immune response in all patients which was observed after only 2-4 doses of the vaccine out of a maximum of 12 doses. In some of the patients, preliminary signs of clinical efficacy were observed.”

Years of large-scale human trials will be needed before the drug is judged safe and effective for widespread use in hospitals. It could then be used with existing drugs to boost treatment and given to prevent tumors from coming back after surgery.

Cancer charities have given the vaccine a cautious welcome, but warned further testing was needed before it could be approved for widespread use. Dr Caitlin Palframan, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said, “This exciting  new approach could lead to treatments for breast cancer patients who have few options. It also opens up the possibility of vaccinating high-risk women against breast cancer in the future.”

Dr Kat Arney, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said, “There are several groups around the world investigating treatments that target MUC1, as it's a very interesting target involved in several types of cancer. These are very early results that are yet to be fully published, so there's a lot more work to be done to prove that this particular vaccine is safe and effective in cancer patients.”

The results are still to be formally published.