PERSONALIZED CANCER VACCINES

If you were to closely examine the surface of a tumor cell, you would see that it’s bristling with unique proteins known as antigens. T cells produced by the immune system are deployed to detect and attach themselves to antigens on the surface of tumor cells. By doing so, these T cells kill tumor cells and prevent the spread of cancer.

Neoantigens are new antigens that are the result of mutations found only in tumor cells. Highly personalised vaccines known as neoantigen cancer vaccines are a novel [new] approach being used to find the neoantigens on an individual patient’s tumor.

So, how does this work?  

Scientists start by sequencing small bits of tumor obtained via a biopsy, looking for mutations that produce neoantigens. They then select for neoantigens that are abundant and most likely to attract T cells. These neoantigens are then synthesized in a lab and packed into a vaccine. 

Over the course of several months, patients receive injections containing millions of these neoantigens specifically designed to bootstrap the immune system to produce T cells that attack these specific neoantigens and the tumor.

A number of these neoantigen vaccines are currently being developed in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, advanced melanoma, and lung non-small-cell cancer. 

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