Personalized Vaccine Could Stop Progression of Metastatic Melanoma

A recent study found that 2 patients with metastatic melanoma survived for at least 8.5 years and 12 years after tumor removal and treatment with patient-specific immunotherapeutic vaccines.

According to the study, published by Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, the vaccines were derived from the patients’ dendritic cells loaded with proteins from their tumors.

Researchers noted there is poor prognosis for patients with melanoma that then spreads to the liver, and that long-term survival could be possible with the eltrapuldencel-T vaccine.

Of the patients studied, 1 had no disease progression for more than 4.5 years and the other patient had no progression for over 12 years.

"These exciting results illustrate the potential for melanoma patient-specific therapeutic vaccines to enhance long-term survival and add to the progress being made on the immunotherapy of melanoma," concluded researcher Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD.