Intravenous experimental cancer vaccine found significant tumor regression

An experimental therapeutic cancer vaccine induced two different and desirable immune system responses, resulting in significant tumor regression
in mice.
That's according to a new study published in the journal Cell, reported by researchers
at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to the findings, intravenous administration of the vaccine can increase the number of cytotoxic T cells capable of penetrating and attacking tumor cells and activate the innate immune system
by inducing type I interferon.
The innate immune response alters the tumor microenvironment and counteracts the power to inhibit the
action of T cells.
No alterations
in the tumor microenvironment were found in mice vaccinated by subcutaneous injection (i.
e.
, needle piercing into the skin).

This approach, dubbed "vax-innate" by the scientific team, achieves an important goal
in the search for more effective cancer immunotherapy vaccines.
The study showed that intravenous vaccines enhance T cell immunity by overcoming tumor-induced immunosuppressive activity
.
According to the researchers, the vaccine candidate could also be given intravenously to people
who have already received tumor-specific T cell therapy.
The researchers note that it can also improve tumor control
by increasing the number of T cells and altering the tumor microenvironment to function better.

SNAPvax is the name of the experimental vaccine designed by Robert Seder, MD, and colleagues at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in collaboration with collaborators at Vaccitech North America, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Baltimore
, Maryland.
Vaccitech announced plans to advance the SNAPvax platform for the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers
in 2023.

References: