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Vaccines can be used to both prevent and treat certain cancers. Gardasil is an example of a cancer-prevention vaccine. It protects against infection with some types of human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer as well as several other cancers. Therapeutic cancer vaccines help to treat cancer after it starts.
Researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and around the world are working on vaccines to use in pancreatic cancer treatment.
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How Vaccines Can Treat Pancreatic Cancer
Like other forms of immunotherapy, vaccines fight cancer using your immune system. They prompt your immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. In pancreatic cancer, the hope is a vaccine might halt tumor growth, prevent cancer from spreading, or delay or keep it from coming back after other treatments, like surgery.
Autogene cevumeran is one such option. It’s a vaccine that’s individualized based on a patient’s tumor cells. Researchers are testing if it can stimulate an immune response against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and if the response will be strong enough and lasting enough to help people stay cancer free after surgery to remove their tumor. Results from a small Phase I (1) clinical trial showed the vaccine was safe enough in humans to move on to further testing.
People whose disease responded to the vaccine had longer recurrence-free survival than those whose disease didn’t respond. An international Phase II (2) trial will compare results for patients who get the vaccine plus atezolizumab (another immunotherapy) and mFOLFIRINOX (chemotherapy) after surgery to results for patients who get only mFOLFIRINOX after surgery.
Why Choose Fred Hutch for Vaccines for Pancreatic Cancer
Fred Hutch is a leader in developing immunotherapies and giving patients early access through clinical trials. Scientists here are part of the Phase II autogene cevumeran trial. Fred Hutch was the site for several of the studies that led to approval of sipuleucel-T, a vaccine to treat advanced prostate cancer, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our researchers are working on vaccines to treat other cancers as well, including breast and ovarian cancer.
Your Fred Hutch care team will talk with you about all treatment options to control your cancer, including promising options, like vaccines, that you may be able to receive through a study.
There are not yet any pancreatic cancer vaccines approved by the FDA. To receive a vaccine, you would need to take part in a vaccine study that is accepting volunteers. Every study has a set of guidelines about who can and cannot participate (eligibility criteria). The criteria often have to do with factors like the type of cancer, the stage, if you’ve already had any cancer treatments and if so, which treatments. If you have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, your Fred Hutch care team can tell you if there are vaccine studies that match your situation.