A cancer vaccine is closer than ever before

A 2023 study by researchers from Harvard Medical School shows how active cancer cells can be repurposed to kill and prevent cancer, the paper in Science Magazine explained.

"Using gene engineering, we are repurposing cancer cells to develop a therapeutic that kills tumor cells and stimulates the immune system to destroy primary tumors and prevent cancer," author Khalid Shah told Sky News.

That new treatment joins a list of potential cancer vaccines developed by research teams worldwide, including dome affiliated with Big Pharma names like Moderna. According to Sky News, the company is working on treatments using the same mRNA technology in its coronavirus vials.

The new potential treatment is being tested for an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. According to Sky News, living cells will travel through the brain to return to the tumor and kill the other cells while alerting the immune system to detect others. The cells were designed with CRISPR-Cas9, a gene editing tool, and are being tested in mice.

Another treatment using cancer cells was recently put through a human clinical trial led by Professor Keyoumars Ashkan, a neurosurgeon at King's College Hospital in London, and reached promising results regarding brain cancer treatment.

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The London trial tested a new vaccine, called DCVax, the first that seems to give patients several years of survival compared to standard treatment. The results were published on November 17, 2022, in the Journal of the American Medical Association of Oncology.

Like Harvard's treatment, the vaccine is also tailored towards Glioblastoma. This tumor affects the Central Nervous System and can compromise the spinal cord or the brain. It is the deadliest and most common primary brain tumor in adults.

The clinical trial lasted eight years and was conducted in four countries. It started in August 2007 and ended in November 2015. Data analysis was carried out from October 2020 to September 2021.

The clinical trial tested 331 patients, all diagnosed with glioblastoma. Of these, 232 received the vaccine and 99 a placebo drug.

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"The total results are astonishing," Professor Ashkan told The Guardian. He added that the vaccine "was shown to prolong life and interestingly so in patients traditionally considered to have a poorer prognosis."

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The patients who received the vaccine lived for about one year and six months after being diagnosed with the tumor. On the other hand, the placebo group survived an average of 1 year and three months. The difference seems small, but the results are significant in percentage.

Photo: Unsplash/ National Cancer Institute

Furthermore, 13% of vaccinated participants lived at least five years after diagnosis. While among those not vaccinated, only 5.7% reached this longevity.

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According to Super Interessante magazine, the vaccine can also track and treat the tumor directly. "DCVax causes the body's immune system to be programmed to track and attack the tumor. It is the first method developed with this strategy," the article read.

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"The vaccine works by stimulating the patient's immune system to fight against the tumor," Ashkan explained in The Guardian. He produced it by combining proteins from the patient's tumor with their white blood cells, which "educates" them to recognize it. The researcher also pointed out that this cure "provides a personalized solution."

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Immunotherapy techniques seem to have a remarkable effect. Professor Ashkan told The Guardian that he believes it is "the most intelligent system known to man."

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The optimism is more than justified. According to the research article, the standard treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Following initial surgery, the tumors tend to come back within 6 to 8 months, and the patients generally survive only 15 to 17 months.

The study was done within the National Health System of the U.K. However, the vaccine is not yet available for public health patients. After being tested, a vaccine still takes some time to reach hospitals and health centers.

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According to a press release, the US company that manufactured DCVax, Northwest Biotherapeutics, got a license for commercial manufacturing of cell therapy products in the UK on March 2023.

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According to The Guardian, "DCVax would be the first new treatment in 17 years for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and the first in 27 years for people with relapses."