A new vaccine for the prevention of pancreatic cancer has shown promise in an early study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.A phase 1 trial published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, tested an experimental vaccine called mKRAS-VAX in 20 people, according to a press release.Participants had an inherited risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common and aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, along with an abnormality detected in imaging, typically a pancreatic cyst.These individuals had not been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.NEW PANCREATIC CANCER PILL NEARLY DOUBLES SURVIVAL TIME IN BREAKTHROUGH TRIALFour injections were administered to participants during weeks one, three and five, along with a booster at week 13.The vaccine targeted six common mutations of KRAS.
Changes in this gene drive more than 90% of PDACs.The vaccine targeted six common mutations of KRAS.Changes in this gene drive more than 90% of PDACs.
(iStock)The vaccine triggered a mutant KRAS-targeted immune response in 18 of the 20 participants (90%).On average, immune activity increased about 18-fold, although responses varied.
Half of participants responded to all six KRAS mutations included in the vaccine.Researchers also found the vaccine generated two types of T cells — one to attack abnormal cells and another to provide longer-term immune memory.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZThe vaccine appeared to be safe, with participants experiencing only injection-site reactions and temporary flu-like symptoms.While the phase 1 trial was designed primarily to evaluate safety rather than effectiveness, after about 16.5 months of follow-up, no participants had developed pancreatic cancer.At the same time, 37.5% of vaccinated participants experienced shrinkage or disappearance of the pancreatic cysts that had put them at increased risk for the disease.Some pancreatic cancer cysts shrank or disappeared ...