Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Melanoma vaccine

Hundred percent development argentinoUna melanoma vaccine ready for final test Will be tested in 108 patients with skin cancer, would be available in 3 or 4 years.

Argentine researchers have developed a vaccine to treat melanoma, the most common form of cancer in people aged between 15 and 44 years will begin in the coming months with phase studies in patients prior to approval by authorities local regulatory. If you pass this last test, called Vaccimel vaccine could be available in 3 to 4 years. "After three years of receiving the vaccine, 70% of patients in advanced stages of melanoma who participated in clinical studies so far remained free of disease," said Dr. Marcela Barrio, CONICET researcher involved in the development of Vaccimel, during a press conference held in Expo-Medical.


The study cited involved Barrio twenty patients with stage III melanoma (the scale of gravity has four stages and it indicates that the disease is no longer located in its original site), which had previously been surgically removed tumor. "For these patients there is no specific standard treatment after surgery, so they have a high risk of relapse," said Barrio. The study, whose launch was announced yesterday, will involve a larger number of patients: 108, of which 72 received vaccine and 36 interferon alpha, which is the drug most commonly used today. "We hope to begin before year's end, once the Anmat [National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology] approves the protocol," the lawyer said yesterday Arturo Prins, executive director of FundaciĆ³n Sales (www.sales.org . ar.)

The foundation that supports their work in support of science through grants has invested two million dollars in this project over 19 years, which is led by Dr. Jose Mordoh. The project involves the Biochemical Research Institute Buenos Aires, working in the Leloir Institute, Cancer Research Center-FUCA, who works at the Instituto Alexander Fleming, and the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA .) In Argentina, every year are diagnosed 5000 new cases of melanoma. In its early stages, up to 98% of cases of this aggressive skin cancer can be cured by surgery.

Therapeutic use Unlike the vast majority of vaccines, Vaccimel not to prevent disease in this case, the melanoma-but to treat those who already have it. "It is a therapeutic vaccine, designed to ensure that the patient developed a specific immunity against tumor cells," said Dr. Barrio. "The vaccine was developed from cells isolated from different tumors [melanomas] and then irradiated to make them unable to divide," said the researcher. In these cells was added a substance called GM-CSF, which attracts dendritic cells to the site where the vaccine has been injected. "Dendritic cells are a vital link in the body's defenses: those who teach the cells T how to identify invasive cells of the body must be destroyed.

After phagocytosis of the cells contained in the vaccine, dendritic cells show T cells which are proteins that reveal the tumor cells. Then, T cells patrol the body looking for cells that have escaped melanoma surgery he underwent the patient, thus avoiding the recurrence of the disease. "So far the results with the vaccine were higher than those of interferon alfa-added Dr. Barrio. But even if they were the same in the next study, the vaccine would provide an improvement in the treatment of these patients, since it lacks the toxic effects of interferon. "