Vaccine and Chemotherapy Combo Shows Promise for Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma patients showed an impressive immune response to TroVax, a novel cancer vaccine, when it was combined with standard chemotherapy in a recent clinical trial. Researchers from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom conducted the study that was published by the journal OncoImmunology. TroVax is a laboratory engineered virus designed to target the human protein 5T4. A mutated form of 5T4 is found in almost all mesothelioma tumors, including the sarcomatoid subtype, the most difficult to treat. The phase II clinical trial produced a disease control rate of 87 percent, more than double the rate of a previous study done without the vaccine. More than 17 percent of patients saw tumor reduction. “This was a proof-of-concept study, and we proved it. We were able to demonstrate the response,” Angela Casbard, senior research fellow in statistics at Cardiff, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “We don’t know yet the clinical impact or what it could be.” Vaccine Used with Other Cancers TroVax, which is produced by Oxford BioMedica in the United Kingdom, already has been tested successfully with renal, colorectal and prostate cancers. Treatment-related side effects were comparable to those seen with chemotherapy alone. Of the 23 patients who received at least three doses of TroVax, 22 developed a humoral or cellular immune response. This was well beyond the targeted response rate of 64 percent. All three patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma showed an i...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news