Nov 16 2011
Vaccine Colorectal Cancer – ALVAC-CEA/B7.1

Colorectal Cancer Vaccine
One of the reasons cancer is so hard to treat is that it can trick the immune system into thinking it is not a threat. But a new vaccine may soon turn the tables on some cancers. We’ll tell you how it works.

 


 

TRANSCRIPT

GENE MILLER AND HIS WIFE MARIA UNDERSTAND DANGER. GENE WAS A MILITARY INTERROGATOR DURING THE GULF WAR. NOW HE FACES A DIFFERENT ENEMY — COLON CANCER.

Gene Miller
Colon Cancer Patient
“Just before Christmas I was diagnosed with metastasis of the colon cancer to my liver.”

THANKS TO A NEW STUDY, GENE MAY HAVE A NEW WEAPON IN THIS BATTLE. IT’S A VACCINE MADE FROM A DE-ACTIVATED VIRUS. DOCTORS HOPE IT WILL TRICK THE IMMUNE SYSTEM INTO FIGHTING THE CANCER.

Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D.
Oncologist
USC/Norris Cancer Center
Los Angeles, CA
“I’m very hopeful that this is a very important and successful approach. It’s just too early to say how effective this treatment will be.”

GENE SIGNED UP FOR THE STUDY FOR TWO REASONS. FIRST, HE HOPES IT WILL HELP HIM.

Gene Miller
“But I’m even more hopeful that something will come out of this where we’ll have a drug that will be useful for people in the future. So they don’t have to go through this traditional chemo which really kind of sucks, basically.”

UNLIKE OTHER EXPERIMENTAL VACCINES THAT ARE USED AS A LAST RESORT, THIS ONE IS GIVEN WITH CHEMOTHERAPY AS A FIRST-LINE TREATMENT.

Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D.
“With chemotherapy we kill cells. And at the same time, we stimulate the body to recognize these tumor cells to further enhance the effect of cell killing.”

GENE SAYS HIS LAST TESTS SHOWED HIS CANCER WASN’T SPREADING AND MIGHT EVEN BE RETREATING.

Gene Miller
“In the last month my energy level has come up, and so I’ve been feeling a lot better. So that also helps maintain a little more optimism.”

DOCTORS HOPE THAT OPTIMISM, COMBINED WITH THE NEW VACCINE, WILL HELP GENE WIN THIS LATEST FIGHT.

SO FAR, RESULTS HAVE BEEN PROMISING, BUT DOCTORS STRESS THEY NEED MORE DATA TO BE SURE THE VACCINE WORKS. CLINICAL TRIALS ARE ONGOING IN EIGHT CITIES THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA.


HEALTHY FOR LIFE EXTRA

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

WHY A VACCINE? Vaccine trials are nothing new in the search for effective cancer treatments. The idea is to “jump-start” the immune system into recognizing and fighting cancer cells. Traditionally, vaccines have been used only as last resorts when chemotherapy and other treatments have failed. By then, the patient might be so weakened that the chances for recovery are slim. A new vaccine directed specifically at colorectal cancer is showing promise. Unlike its predecessors, this vaccine is being administered immediately upon diagnosis along with chemotherapy.

HOW DOES IT WORK? The vaccine, called ALVAC-CEA/B7.1, is a deactivated strain of a virus. Researchers are interested in this virus because of the antigens it displays. They are identical to the antigens exhibited by colorectal tumors. The body’s immune system should normally fight cells displaying these antigens, but many people with colorectal cancer have immune systems that don’t recognize cells as bad and therefore, don’t fight them. The idea behind the vaccine is to introduce even more of the tumor-associated antigens (TAA) into the body so the immune system becomes “awakened” or “trained” to attack the cancer cells.

When a patient qualifies for the experimental protocol, the patient begins the therapy immediately and in conjunction with traditional chemotherapy. The vaccine is administered at weekly intervals through subcutaneous injection, meaning just under the skin, as opposed to being injected into a muscle of the vein. Although the studies are currently in early stages, it appears that patients are tolerating the joint vaccine/chemotherapy regimen without any unusual side effects.

HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE? Laboratory studies have suggested that the vaccine does, in fact, activate immune responses. However, it is still unclear just how effective the vaccine will be in defeating colorectal cancer. For this reason, studies are ongoing, and researchers are seeking qualified candidates for participation. Patients must have metastatic colorectal cancer and must not have received chemotherapy. Medical centers participating in the trial are located in Los Angeles (USC/Norris Cancer Center) as well as New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Birmingham, Chicago, and Ontario, Canada.

COST: For the purposes of the clinical trials, the vaccine’s costs are covered by the pharmaceutical company that created it. A patient’s health insurance is expected to cover the costs associated with chemotherapy, x-rays, and other tests.

 

Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D.
University of Southern California
1441 Eastlake Avenue, Suite 3456
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9173
(323) 865-3955
Email: lenz@hsc.usc.edu
Website: https://ccnt.hsc.usc.edu

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