Poster Presentation Asia-Pacific Vaccine and Immunotherapy Congress 2023

Targeting Cancer Neoantigens: The Potential of Personalized Peptide-Based Vaccine for Advanced Solid Tumor Patients (#118)

Jiawei Shou 1 , Fan Mo 2 3 4 5 , Shanshan Zhang 2 6 , Lantian Lu 2 7 , Ning Han 2 8 , Hongming Pan 1 , Shuqing Chen 3 6 9 10 , Yong Fang 1
  1. Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  2. Hangzhou Neoantigen Therapeutics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  3. College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  4. Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  5. Hangzhou AI-Nano Therapeutics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  6. Zhejiang University, Zhejiang California International Nanosystems Institute, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  7. School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  8. Hangzhou AI-Nano Therapeutics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  9. Hangzhou Neoantigen Therapeutics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  10. ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Neoantigen vaccines represent a novel modality of cancer immunotherapy that targets the specific neoantigens present in an individual's cancer cells 1. These neoantigens, which are unique mutations not present in normal cells, serve as ideal targets for the immune system, thus providing a personalized approach to cancer treatment 2.

 

A clinical study (NCT03662815) was conducted to evaluate the antitumor effect of iNeo-Vac-P01, a personalized neoantigen vaccine, in the treatment of advanced solid tumor patients 3. The vaccine was designed and manufactured using an in-house bioinformatic pipeline analysis of whole-exome sequencing data obtained from tumor and peripheral blood cell DNA. The vaccine was administered subcutaneously, along with the adjuvant GM-CSF, to the study participants on days 1, 4, 8, 15, 22, 78, and 162, with additional immunizations given every 2-3 months based on individual patient benefit. The monotherapy of iNeo-Vac-P01 demonstrated safety and feasibility, with a disease control rate of 71.4%.

 

In a retrospective analysis, the study found a synergy between pre-vaccination radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and neoantigen vaccination 4. This finding was validated in an animal study where the concurrent therapy of RFA and neoantigen vaccination resulted in stronger antitumor responses compared to single modality alone, and the addition of anti-PD-1 further enhanced the antitumor effect.

 

In conclusion, the results of this study highlight the safety and feasibility of using iNeo-Vac-P01 as a monotherapy for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, and the potential for further improvement through the use of local RFA and systemic immunotherapy modalities.

  1. Schumacher, T. N., Scheper, W. & Kvistborg, P. Cancer Neoantigens. Annual Review of Immunology 37, 173-200, doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-042617-053402 (2019).
  2. Lang, F., Schrörs, B., Löwer, M., Türeci, Ö. & Sahin, U. Identification of neoantigens for individualized therapeutic cancer vaccines. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 21, 261-282, doi:10.1038/s41573-021-00387-y (2022).
  3. Fang, Y. et al. A Pan-cancer Clinical Study of Personalized Neoantigen Vaccine Monotherapy in Treating Patients with Various Types of Advanced Solid Tumors. Clin Cancer Res 26, 4511-4520, doi:10.1158/1078-0432.Ccr-19-2881 (2020).
  4. Shou, J. et al. Combination treatment of radiofrequency ablation and peptide neoantigen vaccination: Promising modality for future cancer immunotherapy. Front Immunol 13, 1000681, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.1000681 (2022).