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Vaccine may be active in breast, ovarian cancers
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A small pilot study has found that a vaccine may have clinical activity in women with breast or ovarian cancer, according to recently published results.
The study evaluated the PANVAC vaccine in 26 patients with metastatic breast or ovarian cancer.
The vaccine is a recombinant poxviral vaccine that targets MUC-1, CEA and 3 T-cell costimulatory molecules. A safety study on the vaccine was done previously. The current study was done to evaluate clinical efficacy and response.
All 26 patients enrolled received monthly vaccinations. Clinical outcomes were the primary endpoint; immunologic response was secondary.
Patients were heavily pretreated, with 21 of 26 patients receiving at least three prior chemotherapy regimens.
For the 12 patients with breast cancer, median time to progression was 2.5 months and median OS was 13.7 months. At the end of the study, four patients had stable disease.
Among the patients with ovarian cancer, median time to progression was 2 months and median OS was 15 months.
The most commonly reported side effect was mild injection-site reaction.
One patient has remained on study for more than 3 years and has a sustained complete response. This indicates there is potential “for therapeutic vaccines to provide patient benefit without toxicity,” the researchers wrote.
For more information:
- Mohebtash M. Clin Cancer Res. 2011;doi:10.1158/1078-0432. CCR-11-0649.