As well as the 95% survival rate at the median 9.2 year follow-up, 45% of patients that received the vaccine remained in continuous first clinical remission at their most recent follow-up. Furthermore, median disease free survival for the patient cohort was eight years.
These results suggest a clinically significant advance over current expectations of disease progression.
The study evaluated patients with follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in continuous first clinical remission six months following chemotherapy, who were then treated with a series of subcutaneous vaccinations of BiovaxID.
“The results of this phase II study compare very favorably with chemotherapy alone and with CHOP-R where the median disease-free-survival is 2.2 years and 6.9 years respectively. The ongoing phase III trial of BiovaxID vs non-specific immune stimulation should help to clarify the role of vaccine therapy in patients with follicular lymphoma,” said Dr Barry Gause, co-investigator for the clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute.
BiovaxID stimulates the patient’s immune system, priming it to recognize and eliminate cancerous lymphoma cells, while sparing normal B-cells.