A Promising Vaccine for Glioma Patients
Scientists at Roswell Park are taking glioma research in an exciting new direction and are making breakthroughs in the understanding of these cancers. Innovative therapies now under development show great promise for greater effectiveness, increased survival rates, and a steep reduction in adverse treatment side effects.
“Surgery often provides glioma patients with months or years that they otherwise would not have had-but it’s not a cure,” says Dr. Robert Fenstermaker, Neurosurgery Department chairman and Director of Neuro-Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “And, because surgery by itself is unlikely to be a cure, I began working on novel research initiatives that would have greater impact for my patients.”
That change in focus was the first step toward a new glioma vaccine that brings the patient’s own immune system into the fight, and offers hope for effective treatments that avoid toxic side effects.
Dr. Fenstermaker and research partner Michael J. Ciesielski, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology and co-leader of the Roswell Park Neuro-Oncology Disease Site Research Group, have applied a technique called molecular mimicry in developing a new vaccine called SurVax M.
“Our research suggests that genetically engineered molecules, known as peptide mimics, can trick the body’s immune defense system into killing tumor cells that would, ordinarily, leave alone,” Ciesielski notes.
A phase I trial of the SurVax M vaccine is currently underway. The vaccine is being tested in patients with brain cancer and generates an immune response that works against a particular molecule, survivin, rendering it ineffective in helping the cancer grow.
Outcomes so far have shown that the SurVaxM has proven to stimulate a patient’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.
The early results are promising – with no recurrence in the first patient’s tumor in more than 15 months, compared with the average survival rate of 6-7 months with recurrent gliomas. The next step is a Phase II trial of SurVax M in newly-diagnosed glioma patients, which is currently being designed. It is hoped that Phase II, which is being planned in collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Center, will take place in 2014, depending on how many patients can be accrued for this trial.
Robert Fenstermaker, M.D. recently shared why he became a physician specializing in brain cancer:
“I decided to become a neurosurgeon because I had two cousins who died of brain tumors when I was a child. During my residency, I realized that neurosurgeons are not going to cure brain cancer. Something more was needed- the answers lie in understanding the biology of tumors and cancer.”
“There aren’t many places like Roswell Park that are totally dedicated to the study of cancer. Few hospitals have the mission not only to treat cancer patients, but to understand cancer through research and to teach.
A unique place like this requires the support of dedicated friends to make it all possible and that is why we are so grateful to our donors who help us by supporting our research activities.”
“Surgery often provides glioma patients with months or years that they otherwise would not have had-but it’s not a cure,” says Dr. Robert Fenstermaker, Neurosurgery Department chairman and Director of Neuro-Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “And, because surgery by itself is unlikely to be a cure, I began working on novel research initiatives that would have greater impact for my patients.”
That change in focus was the first step toward a new glioma vaccine that brings the patient’s own immune system into the fight, and offers hope for effective treatments that avoid toxic side effects.
Dr. Fenstermaker and research partner Michael J. Ciesielski, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology and co-leader of the Roswell Park Neuro-Oncology Disease Site Research Group, have applied a technique called molecular mimicry in developing a new vaccine called SurVax M.
“Our research suggests that genetically engineered molecules, known as peptide mimics, can trick the body’s immune defense system into killing tumor cells that would, ordinarily, leave alone,” Ciesielski notes.
A phase I trial of the SurVax M vaccine is currently underway. The vaccine is being tested in patients with brain cancer and generates an immune response that works against a particular molecule, survivin, rendering it ineffective in helping the cancer grow.
Outcomes so far have shown that the SurVaxM has proven to stimulate a patient’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.
The early results are promising – with no recurrence in the first patient’s tumor in more than 15 months, compared with the average survival rate of 6-7 months with recurrent gliomas. The next step is a Phase II trial of SurVax M in newly-diagnosed glioma patients, which is currently being designed. It is hoped that Phase II, which is being planned in collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Center, will take place in 2014, depending on how many patients can be accrued for this trial.
Robert Fenstermaker, M.D. recently shared why he became a physician specializing in brain cancer:
“I decided to become a neurosurgeon because I had two cousins who died of brain tumors when I was a child. During my residency, I realized that neurosurgeons are not going to cure brain cancer. Something more was needed- the answers lie in understanding the biology of tumors and cancer.”
“There aren’t many places like Roswell Park that are totally dedicated to the study of cancer. Few hospitals have the mission not only to treat cancer patients, but to understand cancer through research and to teach.
A unique place like this requires the support of dedicated friends to make it all possible and that is why we are so grateful to our donors who help us by supporting our research activities.”