Researchers from Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center are investigating whether primary or metastatic tumors can be used to produce personalized neoantigen-targeted cancer vaccines.
These vaccines work by engaging cells within the immune system to attack tumors by exposing them to the specific proteins or antigens expressed by a cancer cell, according to a Nov. 5 news release.
Results from early testing show that the vaccines "carry significant promise in treating solid malignancies," in many cancers including melanoma, bladder, head and neck cancers, according to the research published Nov. 2 in the British Medical Journal.
The initial study focused on evaluating 45 patients with primary and metastatic tumor pairs. Now after the positive results, Moffitt researchers plan to expand their work to include 600 patients to further refine conclusions that can be drawn from this study.