The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7209 p152
3 August 2002

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International Society for Cancer Gene Therapy (www.iscgt.org.uk)

Cancer vaccine elicits appropriate immune response in patients

A gene-based vaccine in development has shown promise for the treatment of colorectal cancer. The vaccine, TroVax, is being developed by Oxford Biomedica, a biotechnology company.

TroVax works by stimulating the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells. The gene that the vaccine contains encodes an antigen, OAB1, that exists on the surface of tumour cells. When the protein is expressed, an anti-tumour response is induced. It is this immune response that is expected to have a beneficial effect, Oxford Biomedica reports.

In a phase I/II trial of 12 patients with advanced stage colorectal cancer who had completed chemotherapy treatment, an immune response to the antigen was elicited in 10 patients. In several patients, induction of the immune response was correlated with reductions in levels of circulating markers of tumour load.

The vaccine is expected to be tested in patients with earlier stage colorectal cancer who are still undergoing chemotherapy.

Data were presented at the International Society for Cancer Gene Therapy conference, held in London last month.