Thread by @sailorrooscout

This is HUGE news! An investigational vaccine, ELI-002, appears to be effective in delaying relapse of KRAS-mutated pancreatic AND colorectal cancer, according to Phase I study results. FURTHERMORE, T-cell response correlated with an 86% REDUCTION in risk of relapse or death.🧵⬇️

This research has been published in Nature. You can find it here:
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✅ Highly respected journal
✅ Expert written journal
✅ Peer reviewed journalnature.com/articles/s4159…

ELI-002, an investigational therapeutic vaccine, put to the test by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, appeared to be effective in delaying relapse of KRAS-mutated pancreatic and colorectal cancer (CRC), according to results from a Phase I

AMPLIFY-201 study.

All of the patients had a specific tumor mutation called mKRAS mutation, which is one of the more common gene mutations linked to cancer. Among the 25 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and CRC who were considered at high risk for relapse

and who received a maximum of 10 doses of the ELI-002 vaccine, T-cell responses occurred in 84%, and in 100% of those in the two highest dose cohorts. FURTHERMORE, T-cell response correlated with an 86% reduction in risk of relapse or death.

About ELI-002

ELI-002 is composed of AMP-modified mutant KRAS peptide antigens and ELI-004- an AMP-modified immune-stimulatory oligonucleotide CpG adjuvant available as an off-the-shelf subcutaneous administration. Researchers explained that what distinguishes ELI-002

as a vaccine is that it is directed INTO lymph nodes in order to elicit more robust immune responses and target mutant KRAS with greater potency and precision.

ELI-002 is also an “off the shelf” vaccine, meaning in that it DOES NOT need to be tailored to an individual person and can easily be added as an adjuvant cancer therapy.

Of the 25 patients in the trial (median age 61 years), 20 had pancreatic cancer and five had CRC. All 25 previously had surgery or another procedure designed to be curative, and seven previously had received radiation therapy.

The vaccine was evaluated at dose levels of 0.1, 0.5, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg. T-cell responses were observed in 21 of the 25 patients, and at the two highest dose levels, all patients (11 of 11) demonstrated elevated mutant KRAS-specific T-cell responses following ELI-002 vaccination.

People who’ve undergone surgery for pancreatic and colorectal cancer have a high risk of relapsing. Having an effective vaccine that can attack any remaining cancer cells in the body could lower the risk of relapse and, ultimately, boost chances of survival.

These findings are very exciting because this is one of the first studies to show that a vaccine may reduce the chance of a very aggressive cancer (pancreas) from returning and while these results are still early on, they’re quite promising. The results of the trial have now led

to a subsequent Phase 2 trial that will further test the safety and efficacy of ELI-002.

You can read all this and more here:
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•nature.com/articles/s4159…
mdanderson.org/newsroom/vacci…
medicalnewstoday.com/articles/new-v…
medpagetoday.com/hematologyonco…