The colon cancer vaccine is close to a step of reality
The "standard" vaccine has also shown promising results for pancreatic cancer.
Since the US preventive services working group (USPSTF) has changed its recommendation for the moment when Americans at average risk of colon cancer should start to be tested from 50 to 45 years, Previous detection is increasing .
However, in the United States, colon cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed fourth cancer and the second cause of cancer death, according to the Colorectal alliance of cancer . Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that 10% of these cases of colon cancer are diagnosed in Americans under the age of 50, this number regularly increasing around 2% each year.
But the new results of a clinical trial offer more than a simple glow of hope in the fight against colorectal cancer. Researchers from the UCLA Health Jonsson Understanding Cancer Center published results according to which a "standard" cancer vaccine showed "encouraging the first results in patients with pancreatic and colorectal cancer, two of the most difficult malignant tumors" press release .
In relation: The risk of colon cancer decreases with this simple snack, a new revolutionary study reveals a new study .
How would a colon cancer vaccine work?
These final test results were published in the journal Nature Medicine And showed how the vaccine, called ELI-002 2P, can stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
The vaccine targets tumors driven by mutations in the Kras gene. According to MD Anderson Cancer Center , "Kras mutations are present in around 25% of tumors, making it one of the most common genic mutations linked to cancer." They are responsible for around 50% of colorectal cancers and 90% of pancreatic cancers.
"This is an exciting advance for patients with cancer focused on Kras, in particular pancreatic cancer, where recurrence after standard treatment is almost a given and effective therapy is limited," said the first author of the study Zev Wainberg , Md, professor of medicine To the David Geffen School of Medicine of the UCLA and researcher at the UCLA Health Jonsson understanding Cancer Center. "We have observed that patients who have developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained without illness and survived much longer than expected."
To achieve their results, Wainberg and his team analyzed the health data of 20 patients with pancreatic canary adenocarcinoma (which represents more than 80% of pancreatic cancers) and five patients with colorectal cancer, who "had undergone surgery and showed signs of minimum disease of the disease, or traces of DNA cancer in the blood Rotations, "notes the number of press diseases. After a 20 -month follow -up, the researchers found that:
- 21 of the 25 patients 21 have generated specific T cells of Kras (immune cells), many of which have persisted over time
- In 3 patients with pancreatic cancer and 3, the biomarkers associated with the tumor were completely eliminated
- Patients with higher T -cell responses have had a longer survival than those with lower responses
- 17 patients have developed immune responses to additional changes associated with tumors, suggesting a wider anti-tumor activity potential
The other important distinction on the ELI-002 2P vaccine is that it would be "out of maintenance", which means that it works standardized, as opposed to many other cancer treatments which must be personalized for each patient.
"Kras targeting has long been considered one of the difficult challenges of cancer therapy," added Wainberg. “This study shows that the ELI-002 2P vaccine can safely and effectively train the immune system to recognize and combat cancer mutations. It offers a promising approach to generate precise and durable immune responses without the complexity or cost of fully personalized vaccines. ”
In relation: Doctors say that this cheap medication can be a "game changer" to prevent colon cancer .
Another cancer vaccine is in preparation.
A new mRNA vaccine (The same technology behind the COVVID vaccine) also showed very early positive results in the treatment of all types of tumors.
"By combining an mRNA style vaccine with traditional cancer immunotherapy drugs called immune control point inhibitors, [researchers] have been able to generate a rodent tumor -fighting response, which suggests that technology could be used to stimulate the body's immune system to protect against cancer", " Best life explained the study .
The next phase for this vaccine is a human test.
