Clinical Trial Offering Personalized Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma

Patients with mesothelioma are now eligible for a multicancer clinical trial studying the effectiveness of personalized immunotherapy at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. The phase I clinical trial involves a combination of Keytruda (pembrolizumab), a proven immunotherapy drug, and an individualized vaccine based upon the genetic mutations found in each patient’s cancer. “This is the future of cancer treatment,” Dr. Ezra Cohen, principal investigator and director of the San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “Now, we still have a lot to learn, and will continue to do so, but this is the future. We’re convinced.” Cohen has collaborated with Stephen Schoenberger, Ph.D., professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, in developing a technology that can identify the foreign protein fragments specific to an individual and their tumor. A vaccine is then used to induce a stronger, more sustainable immune response. “The immune system really is the answer to beating the cancer,” Cohen said. “The problem is usually that it is not strong enough. It’s a matter of giving the immune system the right signals. And those signals have to be individualized.” Early Results Encouraging The trial, which began in 2018, is expected to run through 2022. It is aimed at advanced cancers and patients who are not candidates for potentially curative standard therapy. Gastrointestinal cancers, head-and-nec...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news