Following the successful outcome of their preclinical studies, Australian scientists are ready to begin trials of a new cancer vaccine in humans. The new vaccine was developed by a team based at The Translational Research Institute working in collaboration with The University of Queensland.

The vaccine has the potential to treat a variety of blood cancers and malignancies and represents a major breakthrough for cancer vaccinations. The researchers are hoping this vaccine will be used to treat blood cancers, such as myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and pediatric leukemias, plus solid malignancies including breast, lung, renal, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers as well as glioblastoma.

This new vaccine is comprised of human antibodies fused with tumor-specific protein. The researchers are investigating its capacity to target human cells while activating the memory of the tumor cells.”

This vaccine offers several key advantages over existing cancer vaccines, which have already shown promise in early clinical trials. First, it can be produced as an ‘off the shelf’ clinical-grade formulation, which circumvents the financial and logistical issues associated with patient-specific vaccines. Second, this prototype vaccine targets the key tumor cells required for the initiation of tumor-specific immune responses, thereby maximizing the potential effectiveness of treatment, while minimizing potential side-effects.

References
Clinical & Translational Immunology, June 12, 2020, “Human CLEC9A Antibodies Deliver Wilms’ Tumor 1 (WT1) Antigen to CD141 Dendritic Cells to Activate Naïve and Memory WT1‐Specific CD8 T Cells,” by Frances E Pearson, et al.  ©  2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  All rights reserved.

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