ECU Researchers Lead Ground-Breaking Global Trials to Change Cancer Treatment
Key Highlights :
The world of cancer treatment is changing, thanks to the groundbreaking research of Edith Cowan University (ECU) researchers. At the 2023 American Society of Oncology (ASCO) congress in Chicago this week, ECU Centre for Precision Health Clinical Professor Adnan Khattak presented the trial's latest results, which could potentially save lives by changing how we treat cancer in the near future.
The trial focused on high-risk skin cancers (melanomas) and found that survival and disease recurrence rates among those who received an mRNA vaccine tailored to suit an individual's tumor genetics, in combination with common immunotherapy treatment, improved significantly. After 18 months, cancer-free survival among patients who received the vaccine and the immunotherapy treatment was 78.6 per cent, compared to 62.2 per cent of those who only received the immunotherapy. Two years after treatment, only 22.4 per cent of patients who had received the vaccine/immunotherapy combination had either died or seen a recurrence of the disease, which rose to 40 per cent for the immunotherapy-only group.
Overall, after an average of two years those who received the vaccine saw a 44 per cent lower risk of death or melanoma returning to the same area of the body, and a 65 per cent reduction in the risk of death or the cancer returning in a different area of the body. Crucially, there was no significant increase in rates of adverse side effects.
The current standard of care is immunotherapy using an antibody known as pembrolizumab, but there are two main issues associated with this approach: first, despite having active immunotherapy for stage three melanoma, about half of patients will relapse at five years; and secondly, it's a very crude approach. Professor Khattak's trial is trying to address these shortcomings by introducing an individualized approach.
Samples of tissue are taken and analyzed to identify neoantigens, proteins which form on cancer cells and which are unique to an individual's tumor. Up to 34 neoantigens may be identified, which are then added to an mRNA molecule and added to a vaccine. The result is a personalized cancer treatment, with the neoantigens most likely to develop an immune response to help the patient's body fight cancer.
The mRNA vaccine is used to treat people who have already been diagnosed with melanoma, and Professor Khattak said it appeared to be more effective after an extended period of time and required multiple doses. He will soon lead a new global trial of the treatment, with his clinic in Perth, Western Australia recruiting the most participants of any site in the world.
If successful, the trial could be the starting point of a new approach to cancer treatment, beyond just melanoma. Those looking for details on the trial can contact One Clinical Research.
It is thanks to the pioneering research of Edith Cowan University researchers that we may soon see a revolution in cancer treatment. By introducing an individualized approach to treatment, the hope is that more people can be cured, and fewer will suffer from the side effects of traditional treatments. We look forward to the results of the new global trial, and the potential it holds for changing the way we treat cancer.
