Vaccination Increases Survival In Lymphoma Patients

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BlankVaccination Increases Survival In Lymphoma Patients

22 Sep 2006

Idiotypic vaccination can increase the survival times of follicular lymphoma

patients.

Considered incurable, follicular lymphoma is often treated with chemotherapy,

but patients always relapse. Vaccines designed to illicit an immune response in

an individual patient, called idiotype vaccines, have not been proven to have

clinical benefit. Maurizio Bendandi, M.D., Ph.D., of the Center for Applied

Medical Research in Navarra, Spain, and colleagues treated 25 follicular

lymphoma patients who had relapsed after chemotherapy. When patients relapsed a

second time, they were treated again with chemotherapy and vaccinated

periodically with idiotype protein over 2 years.

The authors found that this idiotypic vaccination induced immune responses in

patients and increased their disease-free survival time. " This is the first

formal demonstration of clinical benefit associated with the use of a human

cancer vaccine, " they write.

In an accompanying editorial, Dan L. Longo, M.D., of the National Institute on

Aging in Baltimore, Md., writes, " I find the data in the paper persuasive that

idiotype vaccination is influencing the natural history of disease. "

Contact: Article: Maurizio Bendandi

Editorial: Dan Longo

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Other highlights in the September 20 issue of JNCI

Note: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford

University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute.

Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all

news coverage. Visit the Journal online.

Contact: Ariel Whitworth

Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=52336