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news.ImmunoCellular (IMUC) has presented the study results of an investigational cancer vaccine product candidate, ICT-107, targeting cancer stem cells. Data showed that certain specific antigens are highly expressed on cancer stem cells (CSCs).
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The study suggested that ICT-107, which targets those antigens, may target not only the cells that make up the bulk of certain cancerous tumors, but also the CSCs that are widely believed to give rise to them and cause their recurrence.
The CSCs used in IMUC’s study were isolated from the tumors of five patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the common type of brain cancer. These CSCs were found to have higher expressions of three antigens targeted by ICT-107 Her-2/neu, AIM2, and TRP-2, than the cells that make up the bulk of the tumor.
In a recent phase I study of ICT-107 in GBM, newly diagnosed patients who received the vaccine demonstrated a 12-month increase in progression-free survival (PFS) after surgery. This compared favorably with the historical median PFS of 6.9 months observed with standard treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Seven of the 16 patients who participated in the study continue to survive with no disease progression after more than two years, said the company.
ICT-107 is a dendritic-cell based vaccine that works by activating a patient’s immune system against specific tumor-associated antigens. This is accomplished by extracting dendritic cells from a patient, loading them with the antigens and reintroducing them to the patient’s body to trigger an immune response.
The six tumor-associated antigens used in ICT-107 are AIM2, Her-2/neu, gp-100, MAGE-1, TRP-2 and IL13Ra2. These antigens are highly expressed in GBM as well as a number other types of cancer, including breast, pancreatic, colon and melanoma.