Experimental Vaccine Targets Stem Cells in Brain Cancers

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Neurosurgery are conducting an early-phase clinical trial of an experimental vaccine that targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor. The two-year Phase-I study will evaluate the safety and dosing of the vaccine in 45 patients. The vaccine will be created individually for each participant and designed to boost the immune system’s natural ability to protect the body against foreign invaders, known as antigens. The drug targets a protein, CD133, found on cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other forms of cancer as well. By being loaded with specific protein fragments of CD133, dendritic cells — the immune system’s most powerful cell able to recognize invaders — are “trained” to recognize the antigen and stimulate an immune response when they come in contact. The study is the latest evolution in Cedars-Sinai’s history of dendritic cell vaccine research. To read more about this study, click here.