Toulouse. Vaccine brings hope to cancer patients
For two years, a personalized vaccine has been tested in Toulouse in order to limit the risk of relapse for patients affected by cancer.
As World Cancer Day approaches, the Oncopole de Toulouse, biotech Transgene and the patient association Corasso police start first “encouraged” results of a therapeutic cancer vaccine.
This vaccine has the particularity of being personalized. Designed by biotech Transgene, it relies on genetic mutations specific to the patient’s tumor to push his immune defenses to fight it. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to provide an individualized vaccine in a few months.
Two years of clinical trials at the Oncopole
Clinical trials have been conducted in Toulouse for two years. They concern on the one hand certain cancers of the head and neck, in other words ENT cancers, and on the other hand ovarian cancers. These two trials are the only ones involving a personalized vaccine conducted in France.
“ENT cancer affects more than 15,000 people in France every year. For half of them, the cancer is not linked to the human papillomavirus and is treated first line by surgery, then by radiotherapy and/or therapy”, according to the authors of the study. Corn the risk of recurrence is high and difficult to treat. Often within two to three years. The development of an alternative to contain the relapse raises a lot of expectations among these patients.
Quinze patients test cancer vaccine in Toulouse
In 2020, this vaccine entered in clinical evaluation for patients with non-virus-induced ENT cancer and for women with ovarian cancer. The first patient included and received this innovative treatment was treated at the Oncopole de Toulouse.
Two years later, the first results are positive. More than 15 patients, out of a target of around 30 for these trials, have already received the vaccine with encouraging results: ” All patients who received the vaccine showed an immune response. Among those with head and neck cancer, none suffered a relapse. Two patients have already relapsed in the control arm followed in this randomized trial. These patients have been able to benefit from the vaccine since the diagnosis of recurrence. »