Australian researchers have developed a therapeutic cancer vaccine that has appeared to delay cancer recurrence.
Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Australian biotechnology company CSL Limited said the vaccine, called NY-ESO-1/ISCOMATRIXTM, induced a comprehensive immune response in patients and
Of every 19 patients, most with melanoma, treated with three monthly doses of the vaccine following surgical removal of the tumor, 14 remained cancer free over the two years their progress was followed.
The vaccine, which combines a cancer-specific protein with an immune stimulant, appeared to delay the recurrence of cancer, suggesting that some form of protection is being conferred by the vaccine, the researchers said.
Despite the encouraging clinical results, the researchers cautioned that the study was done retrospectively and therefore should be considered less exact than if it been done in a planned, prospective fashion.
Phase II of the study will begin clinical trials in 2005 at cancer centers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
