Dr Hamid on the Potential for Cancer Vaccines in Melanoma

“[There’s] an off-the-shelf [vaccine] that’s in the phase 2 [setting] showing the highest complete response rates we’ve seen with metastatic melanoma, [along with] high overall response rates and durability. If we step back, can we utilize those vaccines now in a neoadjuvant approach? They’re looking at [that approach].”

Omid Hamid, MD, professor, medicine, Cedars-Sinai; director, Clinical Research and Immunotherapy, director, Cutaneous Oncology and Melanoma, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, provides insight on the potential role of cancer vaccines in the treatment of patients with melanoma.

Currently, multiple developmental paths continue to move vaccines forward s in the oncology space, Hamid begins. Within melanoma specifically, Hamid highlights the investigative vaccine IO102-IO103, which is designed to target IDO- and PD-L1–positive cells. Previous data from a phase 1/2 trial (NCT03047928) showed that the addition of IO102-IO103 to nivolumab (Opdivo) led to complete response in patients with metastatic melanoma, Hamid says. Now, the off-the shelf vaccine is being evaluated in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) vs pembrolizumab alone in the phase 3 IOB-013/KN-D18 trial (NCT05155254) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma.

Hamid also explains that IO102-IO103 is constructed using a platform with other targets, which could allow for additional vaccines directed against different markers.

Notably, vaccines had previously displayed limited benefit in the metastatic setting, highlighting the potential for IO102-IO103. Given that this vaccine has displayed activity in the metastatic setting, additional research will aim to evaluate its activity in the perioperative setting, Hamid says.

On the other end of the spectrum, personalized vaccines derived from tumor tissue from an individual patient could also play a role in this space, Hamid continues. He compares this approach to the way tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy works. He concludes that it works similarly because the T-cells are targeting more than only the tumor antigen—there are multifunctional T-cells that target multiple antigens.