Hope for survival of DIY peptide vaccine in cancer patients

Every generation experiences technological breakthroughs that claim to bring hope for a cure for cancer In the past five years, the rapid progress in genetics has long proved that immunotherapy can activate the natural anti-cancer ability of the immune system, and is expected to "cure" many patients' cancer Cancer immunotherapy has produced a lot of incredible success, immunosuppressive checkpoint inhibitors, car-t cell therapy has been approved and listed one after another, which brings a lot of hope to cancer patients   But for some patients, technological progress has a long way to go before saving lives   Mr Vlad in Norway was diagnosed with lung cancer After several months of surgery, radiotherapy and targeted drug treatment, he did not delay the growth of the tumor The cancer spread to his brain, and the doctor announced that he had only a few months left   His wife, Elen's brother, Jo, is an IT Engineer He came across an academic paper on the Internet This article reports a small study in China in which an experimental immunotherapy resulted in "rapid and significant tumor regression" in an 85 year old lung cancer patient This is a very early clinical study involving only one patient   With the popularization of Internet, medical knowledge has been released from the isolated island of scientific research institutions and academic journals People can easily access information, and can find the same information as doctors The medical literature is full of incredible cases The tumor shrank suddenly and the end-stage disease reversed miraculously   In addition to accessing information to participate in the treatment process of self diseases, there are countless online communities around the world, where patients can exchange and share their treatment experience with each other Some groups of patients with rare diseases have even started to fund academic research and drug development on their own diseases   Self made peptide vaccine
In March 2004, Ms dyame of Norway was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer She was only 30 years old Her husband Lars soras's younger brother is a doctor He searches the world for promising treatment information through the Internet, and finally contacts a German professor He is carrying out a research project called "personalized peptide vaccine" Ms dyame regularly went to Germany for peptide vaccine injection After treatment, Ms dyame is in a stable condition Her family recorded the entire treatment on Facebook and eventually attracted a group of patients with the same disease   And Jo saw Ms dyame's case in the patient community, so they had confidence in the peptide vaccine They want to take Ms dyame's road   Coincidentally, in July this year, nature published two research results on individualized cancer vaccine One of them is from the team of Professor Ugur Sahin of the University of Maines in Germany According to the mutation of different tumor patients, the researchers customized personalized cancer vaccine for them, which was a great success in the clinical trials of melanoma patients! After 13 patients received the vaccine, 8 tumors disappeared completely and did not recur within 23 months The other 5 patients received the vaccine when the tumor had spread, 2 of them showed tumor shrinkage, and 1 of them received PD-1 antibody drugs and the tumor was completely relieved   And Jo wrote to immunotherapy researchers to get suggestions that the peptide vaccine mentioned in the literature might be effective for Vlad's cancer and match his HLA type HLA is a genotype, which is very important for immune cells to recognize and attack tumors   However, getting help from researchers can take a long time After all, Professor Ugur Sahin spent more than three months developing an individualized vaccine   But Vlad went from bad to worse We can't wait any longer   As a result, they went to the extreme that end-stage patients might go - to treat themselves   At first Elen and Jo hesitated Because peptide vaccine has potential side effects, it may cause serious allergic reactions Despite all the unknown risks, Elen decided to give it a go Because Vlad is dying, their two children are going to be orphans   Later, with the help of many people in the scientific community and the patient community, they found a laboratory that could synthesize peptides based on the sequence provided, at a cost of about $1000 They ordered the peptides and bought phosphate buffers in pharmacies to dissolve them They also bought adjuvants to help improve the effectiveness of the vaccine Finally, they received a bottle filled with white powder and carefully wrapped in a foam plastic box   Working in a hospital, she is a nurse According to the instructions provided, she finished mixing these things in a laboratory   The self-made peptide vaccine has been injected once a week since August this year After finding no serious side effects, they were relieved Now Vlad's condition is stable But he also received targeted treatment   Everyone who sticks is amazing
In addition to the unexpected risks, the effect of self-made peptide vaccine is also unexpected   Susanna Greer, director of clinical research and oncology at the American Cancer Society, said "there is little chance that this DIY solution will work." Indeed, many studies have shown that a single peptide is unlikely to slow the development of cancer Single peptide is only aimed at one amino acid mutation sequence in tumor, but at present, many ongoing clinical studies combine several different peptides, and target a variety of different tumor mutation sequences at the same time, in order to trigger a stronger attack In addition, peptide vaccines often need to be combined with other therapies to work, and now, science is still determining the best combination with other therapies For example, a potential approach includes the use of peptide vaccines in combination with PD-1 inhibitors After all, Ms dyame in Norway received a peptide vaccine that was much more complex than Elen's own, and she also received other treatments   However, more and more mainstream medicine believes that when a person's life is in danger, they should have the right to receive high-risk treatment Last month, the U.S Senate unanimously approved a bill that allows end-stage patients to obtain experimental drugs that have been preliminarily tested by humans but have not yet been approved by the FDA 37 states have passed similar right to try laws, some of which even allow patients with serious rather than end-stage diseases to try experimental drugs The trial method originated from the period of HIV prevalence in the 1980s, when people knew little about HIV research, and the diagnosed AIDS patients would obtain experimental drugs through illegal channels   A famous movie "Dallas buyers club" restores the story of this era In the mid-1980s, Ron woodroof in Dallas, USA, found himself suffering from AIDS by accident, with only 30 days left In order to survive, he began to study various anti AIDS prescriptions and alternative therapies to prolong his life Ron not only tried his own medicine to survive, but also set up an underground organization called "Dallas buyer club" to provide more "unconventional treatment" for AIDS patients and save thousands of people facing the same situation Ron eventually died in September 1992, 2557 days after he was told he had only 30 days left to live   By the time he received the peptide vaccine, Vlad's cancer had spread to the brain, making him unable to move Elen and Jo hope the vaccine will stop the spread of his cancer, but they worry it's too late   Still, Elen believes and expects peptide vaccines to save her husband As another patient with advanced lung cancer said, "I need to know that even at the end, I've tried my best."