MHH is researching a vaccine against liver cancer
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Studies at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) give hope.
Researchers have developed a vaccine against two types of liver cancer that have so far been particularly difficult to treat. The vaccine is based on a highly attenuated infectious agent called Listeria monocytogenes. In severe tests on mice, the agent has proven to be a safe and effective protection against liver cancer and its precursors.
Cancer vaccine works in mice
“Our vaccine quickly and efficiently activates an immune response that is actively directed against the liver tumor,” explains Tetyana Yevsa, coordinator of the study and head of the working group at the MHH Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology. The activated immune system then stops the growth of the liver tumor under control.
For their study, the researchers vaccinated healthy mice, in which they later induced liver cancer. With double vaccination, 100 percent of the animals survived. The vaccine is also effective in mice with liver fibrosis, which belong to the risk group for liver cancer. “We can use it to identify cells in the preliminary stages that could form into tumors and eliminate them first,” says lead author and doctoral student Inga Hoch Nadel, who is researching under Yevsa’s direction.
Vaccine is based on bacteria
If a tumor already exists, vaccination alone is not as effective. However, when combined with antibody therapy, which IS standard treatment for liver cancer patients, vaccination prolonged the mice’s survival even in advanced disease. “This gives us all great hope for such a combination therapy in the clinic,” says co-first author Lisa Hönicke.
The new vaccine is based on Listeria. These are bacteria that can cause the disease listeriosis, but in this case do not cause an infection. “The tumor development in mice is similar to that in humans,” says Tetyana Yevsa. The findings from the study can therefore generally be transferred to liver cancer patients. However, they must be verified by clinical studies on humans.
The results were published in the journal Oncogene. Scientists from the MHH, HZI and the Pathology Institute of the Heidelberg University Hospital cooperated on the study. Research has now focused on two types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. The number of new cases is increasing in both cases.
By Bärbel Hilbig