VANCOUVER, B.C.:
A cancer vaccine created by using lymphoma patients' own cancer cells is being tested for the first time in Canada by researchers at the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) in Vancouver.
The vaccine is targeted at follicular B-cell lymphoma, the fastest growing common cancer in North America, and considered incurable in most cases. By the time it
's diagnosed, the cancer often has spread to many lymph node groups or other organs. It is hoped that this personalized vaccine may prove to be a step towards a cure.
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This technique for harnessing the immune system may result in long-term disease remission and potential cures for some patients," says Dr. Joseph Connors, head of the lymphoma tumour group at BCCA.
The vaccines are manufactured to target proteins unique to each patient
's lymphoma, Dr. Connors explained. Patients eligible for the study will have a sample of their cancerous tissue taken by removing an involved lymph node, or with a needle biopsy. That sample is used to manufacture the vaccine, which is produced in California by Genitope Corporation, a company specializing in cancer treatments.
"
This patient-specific tumour vaccine may give us a new system to fight this disease," said Dr. Connors. "It's an exciting concept."
So far, 10 volunteers from across B.C. have been recruited to test the vaccine, and the BCCA will continue to recruit eligible patients for the next year. In order to take part in the Phase III clinical trial, patients must have been diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a common form of cancer of the lymphatic system, and have not yet received treatment.
Volunteers will undergo eight rounds of chemotherapy, and receive vaccinations once a month for seven months, with the vaccine made specifically for them. Researchers hope this individually-tailored vaccine will prompt the body
's immune system to fight off the cancer while leaving healthy cells alone. The injections are done at the BCCA's Vancouver Centre, however, volunteers can receive their chemotherapy treatments at oncology centres closer to their own homes.
The first patient to be vaccinated, 34-year-old Devon Brusse of Whistler, started her round of vaccinations earlier this month after completing a course of chemotherapy.
"
I knew I would be receiving chemotherapy in any case, and the chance to participate in a clinical trial meant I might be able to receive a cure," explains Brusse. "I couldn't see a down side to being involved."
The vaccine therapy, which is being tested in 25 centres across North America, was prompted by encouraging results in earlier phase studies of about 100 people conducted at Stanford University and the National Cancer Institute of the United States.
The study is a double-blind trial, meaning that two-thirds of the study volunteers will receive chemotherapy and the individually manufactured vaccines. The remaining third will receive chemotherapy and a non-specific immune system stimulant, Dr. Connors says. All study volunteers will receive conventional chemotherapy regimen before the vaccination phase of the trial, so their treatment is not compromised.
"This study will give us the opportunity to confirm the earlier, encouraging results," says Dr. Connors. "And it allows us to provide a very sophisticated treatment for our patients."
Lymphoma is a cancer that begins in the lymphocytes, the cells of the immune system. The immune system serves the important function of identifying and destroying germs that try to invade the body and cause infection. Lymphocytes are found in many places throughout the body, including lymph nodes, the thymus, spleen, tonsils and adenoids, in the bone marrow and scattered within other systems such as the digestive and respiratory tracts.
In B.C. in 2002, at least 600 estimated new cases of non-Hodgkin
's lymphoma will be diagnosed, and about 300 people will die from the disease. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, and its incidence rates have doubled in the last 20 years.
For more information, please contact:
Nicole Adams
Public Relations Officer
BC Cancer Agency
(604) 877-6272