Scientists are working on a personalized vaccine that researchers say could help extend the lives of people with certain types of brain cancer.
Researchers said the DNA-based vaccine is created using samples taken from a patient’s tumor and is designed to stimulate the immune system to target cancer cells.
The vaccine is being studied as a treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Researchers said the treatment appeared to prolong overall survival in patients during a phase one clinical trial.
“Most of the people who received the vaccine had evidence of an immune reaction that we wanted to see against the brain tumor,” neurosurgeon scientist Dr. Albert Kim said.
Researchers said the vaccine is designed to help the immune system recognize multiple proteins tied to a patient’s specific tumor.
“Immunotherapies including vaccines are safe for patients with brain cancer, and in the next few iterations of this I think we’re going to see some big benefits for these cancer patients,” Kim said.
The phase one clinical trial was led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the journal Nature Cancer