Dr. Marron on an Adjuvant Personalized Neoantigen Peptide Vaccine for Several Malignancies

Thomas Urban Marron, MD, PhD, an assistant director of early phase and immunotherapy clinical trials at the Tisch Cancer Institute, and an assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses primary objectives of a study examining the use of an adjuvant personalized neoantigen peptide vaccine in several malignancies.

The first goal was to determine the safety of the vaccine, which appeared to be well tolerated across the patient population, according to Marron. Patients experienced minimal injection adverse effects, which can be attributed to polyinosinic-polycytidylic, a viral mimic that helps to stimulate the immune system, Marron explains. Additionally, investigators set out to determine the feasibility of manufacturing and administering the vaccine, Marron says.

Fifteen patients with a range of malignancies, including non–small cell lung cancer, ductal or lobular breast cancer, head and neck cancer, ovarian or fallopian tube epithlieal carcinoma, prostate cancer, urothelial cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and multiple myeloma were enrolled to the trial, 13 of whom were vaccinated. Of the 2 patients who were not vaccinated, 1 with lung cancer experienced progressive disease while receiving adjuvant doublet chemotherapy, while the other patient, who was still in remission, selected a study that was closer to their residence. In total, 11 patients received all 10 vaccines, with the remaining 2 patients received 7 and 9 vaccines, respectively. Although the approach is feasible, this strategy requires several visits to the clinic, Marron notes.

The final objective of the study was to determine the immunogenicity of the vaccine, Marron notes. Although the study population is small, investigators observed robust induction of CD4 and CD8 T-cell response, Marron concludes.