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Cancer vaccines are in the news. I’ve written about them quite a bit, so here’s a

. TL;dr: This “breakthrough” lung cancer vaccine is not the first. Many cancer vaccines using different approaches are in clinical trials, but they’re not yet ready for prime time. 1/

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David Wallace-Wells

@dwallacewells

Aug 24

“Doctors have begun trialling the world’s first mRNA lung cancer vaccine in patients, as experts hailed its ‘groundbreaking’ potential to save thousands of lives.” theguardian.com/society/articl

4:17 PM · Aug 26, 2024

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Liz Highleyman

@LizHighleyman

Aug 26

Cancer vaccines aren’t a new idea, but they fell out of favor after disappointing early results. Now, a better understanding of immune response to cancer has renewed hope. Most aim to slow disease progression or reduce recurrence, not prevent cancer . 2/

cancerhealth.com

A Shot at a Cure

We’re all familiar with vaccines that prime the immune system to prevent infections. Can a similar approach be used to fight cancer?

First, there *are* safe & effective vaccines that prevent cancer by targeting viruses that cause them, namely HPV (cervical, anal, oral & genital cancers) & hepatitis B (liver cancer). But that’s not what all the hype is about. 3/

cancerhealth.com

HPV Vaccine Prevents Cancer in Both Women and Men

Vaccination was linked to lower rates of cervical cancer among young women and mouth and throat cancer among young men.

Moderna & Biontech (Pfizer’s COVID vaccine partner) are working on personalized mRNA vaccines that sequence a patient’s removed tumor to select “neoantigens” that stimulate an immune response to that individual’s cancer. 4/

cancerhealth.com

The mRNA Revolution in the Fight Against Cancer

The technology used to create COVID-19 vaccines may also help treat cancer.

's mRNA-4157 looks pretty promising in a mid-stage trial.

@BioNTech_Group

@genentech

's BNT122 also shows promise for pancreatic cancer in smaller study. Both are used with immune checkpoint inhibitors that activate T-cells. 5/

cancerhealth.com

Personalized mRNA Vaccine Delays Melanoma Relapse for Three Years

A customized neoantigen vaccine plus Keytruda significantly reduced the risk of cancer recurrence or metastasis.

This week’s news – apparently triggered by a press release from a market research firm -- is about BionTech’s BNT116. As far as I can tell, this “off the shelf” vaccine uses several antigens commonly found in lung tumors. 6/ clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05142

Should be needless to say, this is hype: “A significant breakthrough in cancer treatment was achieved with the initiation of the first mRNA lung cancer vaccine trials globally.” The first phase 1 study has just gotten underway – no results yet! 7/

globenewswire.com

BioNTech BNT116 Lung Cancer mRNA Vaccine Clinical Trials Initiated

Currently More Than 5 Lung Cancer Vaccines Based On mRNA Platform Are Under Clinical Trials Says Kuick Research...

BNT116 isn't the first lung cancer vaccine. Cuba has a vaccine called CimaVax that targets EGF, one common lung cancer antigen.

@RoswellPark

is running trials for both reducing recurrence & preventing cancer in people at high risk. 8/

A vaccine to prevent lung cancer?

For the nerds: Provenge, approved in 2011 for prostate cancer, removes a patient’s dendritic cells & trains them in a lab to recognize tumors. A study showed that it improved survival by 4 months but didn’t change time to disease progression. 9/

nejm.org

Sipuleucel-T Immunotherapy for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer | NEJM

Sipuleucel-T, an autologous active cellular immunotherapy, has shown evidence of efficacy in reducing the risk of death among men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In this doubl...

's team criticized the study design for bias. 10/

Hard-Wired Bias

From mayoclinicproceedings.org

T-VEC (Imlygic), approved in 2015 for melanoma, uses a modified herpes simplex virus to attack cancer cells. As they rupture, they release antigens that stimulate an immune response. Again, not very impressive in clinical trials. 11/

ascopubs.org

Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Global Phase III Trial of Talimogene Laherparepvec...

PURPOSE The combination of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) and pembrolizumab previously demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and an encouraging complete response rate (CRR) in patients with...

Some bladder cancer therapies are sometimes referred to as vaccines. BCG (bacteria related to TB) is inserted into bladder to stimulate immune response. Adstiladrin & Anktiva (new from

@ImmunityBio

), activate cytokines to promote immune activity. 12/

cancerhealth.com

FDA Approves New Type of Immunotherapy for Early Bladder Cancer

Anktiva, an IL-15 agonist, also shows promise for other malignancies, including non-small-cell lung cancer, and even for HIV.

Liz Highleyman

@LizHighleyman

Aug 26

In summary, yes, many studies of cancer vaccines are underway, some of which have shown promise. No, a breakthrough cancer prevention vaccine won't be available soon. But you can prevent cancer *right now* by getting HPV & hepatitis B vaccines for yourself & your kids.

/end

Agreed, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Many cancer vaccines are in development, and this one's just another step forward.

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James Lucas

@JamesLucasIT

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Larry the Cat

@Number10cat

The kitten will REPORT to Larry the Cat.

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@PolitlcsUK

BREAKING: Keir Starmer will collect a new Siberian kitten to live with his family in No 10 today The kitten will join Larry the Cat [@mattchorley]

The press was obsessed with Hunter Biden. But barely a word about how Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made 82 million dollars while working in the White House.

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