KRAS Vaccine Spurs Immune Response in High-Risk Patients
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have successfully tested an experimental vaccine targeting KRAS mutations in high-risk pancreatic cancer patients. The phase 1 trial showed that 90% of participants developed a durable immune response, marking a potential breakthrough in cancer prevention.
Why it matters
Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal, and a preventative vaccine for high-risk individuals could significantly reduce mortality rates for this specific disease.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer report that an experimental vaccine targeting mutant KRAS, one of the most common genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer, was safe and generated durable immune responses aimed at preventing the cancer in people at high risk.
This study represents what is believed to be the first-in-human demonstration that a KRAS-targeted vaccine can safely generate lasting immune responses, potentially preventing development of the cancer in people at risk.
Findings from the phase 1clinical trial will be published July 16 in Cancer Discovery , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute (R37CA292056 and K08CA248624), Stand Up To Cancer and the Lustgarten Foundation.
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