A potentially powerful cancer vaccine combined with immunotherapy will be tested in humans later this year. The work comes from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of Oxford, which reported on Friday that the vaccine showed promise in tests on mice with tumors. The cancer vaccine appears more effective than cancer immunotherapy alone.
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Cancer immunotherapy is a promising treatment that, unfortunately, only works in a small percentage of cancer patients. The reason, according to researchers, is because the treatment leverages the body's own anti-cancer T cells that can kill cancer cells.
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The new cancer vaccine from Oxford works by increasing the amount of CD8+ T cells, also boosting the body's response to cancer immunotherapy. The vaccine comes in two doses and has shown promise by stimulating anti-cancer cells in mice, also boosting their responses to immunotherapy.
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The vaccine is based on Oxford’s vaccine technology, the same technology behind AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine . Later this year, the team behind the vaccine will begin a clinical trial involving 80 patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The trial will combine the cancer vaccine with PD-1 immunotherapy in collaboration with the Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development and Vaccitech Oncology Limited.
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