CRS-207 Clinical Trials Proceed
The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America is pleased to announce that Aduro Bio Tech has begun conducting phase II clinical trials on a new cancer vaccine called CRS-207. Aduro Bio Tech has enlisted the first group of mesothelioma patients that will take the experimental vaccine.
CRS-207 comes from a relatively new field of study called Immunology that has recently been at the forefront of mesothelioma research. Immunology is the practice of working with the bodys natural immune system to succor the body and manipulate its ability to ward off cancer cells. CRS-207 is classified as a type of immunotherapy.
CRS-207 Boosting the immune system
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), cancer vaccines stimulate the immune system to attack diseased cells that are marked by specific antigens. Using CRS-207, scientists also hope that this reaction will cause the immune system to remember the malignancy and prevent it from coming back.
Therapeutic vaccines are typically formulated with cancer cells, parts of cells or antigens, according to the ACS. Aduro’s candidate treatment CRS-207 uses proprietary attenuated Listeria monocytogenes strains to trigger an immune response against mesothelin tumor-associated antigen. This protein can be found on tumors associated with mesothelioma, non-small-cell lung cancer and malignancies of the ovaries and pancreas.
The new CRS-207 drug is a derivative from a weakened version of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that is the cause of a food-born illness known as Listeriosis. Scientists have manipulated the bacteria in order to generate an immune response to stop cells from producing mesothelin, a tumor-associated antigen that is produced by various types of cancer cells including those produced by mesothelioma.
Phase I of the CRS-207 vaccine trials was concluded on 17 mesothelioma patients, all of who were in various stages of the mesothelioma disease. Although mesothelioma patients in the advanced stages face a very short life expectancy of a few months, six out of 17 patients who took the CRS-207 vaccine lived 15 months or longer.
Phase II trials will have newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients begining treatment by receiving two CRS-207 vaccinations in addition to the traditional mesothelioma chemotherapy treatment of cisplatin with pemetrexed. Once chemotherapy has concluded, the patients with receive at least two more doses of CRS-207. A group of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer will also participate in phase two trials.
Dr. Scott Antonia of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and Dr. Raffit Hassan of the National Cancer Institute are leading the clinical trials. Phase II trials of CRS-207 will center on testing for safety and efficacy in efforts to create the best dosage profile. Patients in the early stages of mesothelioma are currently being enrolled, with trials set to end by December 13th.
The study of Immunotherapy has been an expanding topic among leading mesothelioma researchers, with several recent developments yielding positive results among patients. Asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma have long been plagued with low survival rates. Several recent developments in Immunology have produced new hope among the mesothelioma community as well as other groups in the fight against mesothelioma cancer.
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