Abby Tabor
A study published recently in Science Translational Medicine showed that the way a cancer vaccine is administered can make a big difference in its ability to stimulate the immune system against tumors – contrary to what was previously believed in the field.
“Most cancer vaccines, even against mucosal cancer, are tested in animal models with tumors grafted under the skin and the vaccine delivered into the muscle,” explains Federico Sandoval, first author on the paper and PhD candidate in the lab of Eric Tartour. And, yet, “most tumors in humans develop from the epithelial lining of mucosal cavities.”
Professor Tartour (INSERM, Université Paris Descartes, APHP), head of the research group Immunotherapy and Anti-Angiogenic Therapy in Oncology at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, adds that this could explain why many cancer vaccines fail at the point of clinical trials. The question was, then, whether treating mucosal cancers (lung, head and neck, colon cancer), requires a more targeted activation of the immune system, stimulating stronger mucosal immunity against tumors.
In this video from MyScienceWork, Professor Tartour’s team explains the findings of this study and how the results may impact the development and use of vaccines to treat cancer patients.
The video abstract is a format offered by MyScienceWork in response to researchers’ need to produce a video summary of their study when publishing in certain journals. It is also the chance to provide a clear, visual overview of current research to the public and the media.
Find out more:
"The efficacy of certain anti-cancer vaccines depends on how they are administered", Inserm press release of the study
http://presse-inserm.fr/en/lefficacite-de-certains-vaccins-contre-le-cancer-depend-de-leur-mode-dadministration/6671/
"Cancer Vaccines", The American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/immunotherapy/immunotherapy-cancer-vaccines
"Improvement of different vaccine delivery systems for cancer therapy", an open access article in Molecular Cancer
http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/10/1/3
