Early results in prostate cancer vaccine trial promising

Preliminary phase IIa data on a therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer patients are “promising,” Onyvax Ltd (London) reported Tuesday at the 90th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists in Denver.

The vaccine, Onyvax-P, consists of a combination of three prostate cancer cell lines that represent different stages of disease, and it is designed to induce immune response against a broad range of prostate cancer-associated antigens (see Reuters Health report, January 9, 2002).So far, Onyvax has enrolled 15 of a planned 48 patients in the phase IIa study of Onyvax-P. At study entry, the subjects had prostate cancer that did not respond to hormone therapy and rising levels of prostate specific antigen.The patients exhibited increases in cytokine production and T-cell proliferation, and according to a company press release, several have exhibited a significant decrease in the rate of prostate-specific antigen release. The two patients who have completed the 12-month treatment period have no signs of disease progression.The company plans to release further data during the upcoming year.(Source: Reuters Health: May 6, 2003: Oncolink)