Immunological factors influencing clinical outcome in lung cancer patients after telomerase peptide vaccination.

We have previously reported two trials in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) evaluating vaccine therapy with the telomerase peptide GV1001. The studies demonstrated considerable differences in survival among immune responders, highlighting that an immune response is not necessarily beneficial. In the present study, we conducted long-term clinical follow-up and investigated immunological factors hypothesized to influence clinical efficacy. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 33 NSCLC trial patients and 15 healthy donors were analyzed by flow cytometry for T regulatory cells (Tregs, CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low/-)FOXP3(+)) and two types of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs, HLA-DR (low) CD14 (+) or Lin (-/lo) HLA-DR (-) CD33 (+) CD11b (+)). T cell cultures were analyzed for 17 cytokines. The results demonstrated that immune responders had increased overall survival (OS, p < 0.001) and progression-free survival (p = 0.003), compared to subjects without immunological response. The mean OS advantage was 54 versus 13 months. Six patients were still alive at the last clinical update, all belonging to the immune responders. No serious toxicity had developed (maximum observation 13 years). Most patients developed a polyfunctional cytokine profile, with high IFNγ/IL-4 and IFNγ/IL-10 ratios. Low Treg levels were associated with improved OS (p = 0.037) and a favorable cytokine profile, including higher IFNγ/IL-10 ratios. High CD33(+) MDSC levels were associated with poorer immune response rate (p = 0.005). The levels of CD14(+) MDSC were significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.012). We conclude that a randomized GV1001 trial in NSCLC is warranted. The findings suggest that Tregs and MDSCs are associated with a tolerogenic cytokine milieu and impaired clinical efficacy of vaccine responses.

Combining a Universal Telomerase Based Cancer Vaccine With Ipilimumab in Patients With Metastatic Melanoma - Five-Year Follow Up of a Phase I/IIa Trial.

Background: Ipilimumab improves survival for patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. Combining a therapeutic cancer vaccine with ipilimumab may increase efficacy by providing enhanced anti-tumor immune responses. UV1 consists of three synthetic long peptides from human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). These peptides comprise epitopes recognized by T cells from cancer patients experiencing long-term survival following treatment with a first-generation hTERT vaccine, and generate long-lasting immune responses in cancer patients when used as monotherapy. The objective of this trial was to investigate the safety and efficacy of combining UV1 with ipilimumab in metastatic melanoma. Patients and Methods: In this phase I/IIa, single center trial [NCT02275416], patients with metastatic melanoma received repeated UV1 vaccinations, with GM-CSF as an adjuvant, in combination with ipilimumab. Patients were evaluated for safety, efficacy and immune response. Immune responses against vaccine peptides were monitored in peripheral blood by measuring antigen-specific proliferation and IFN-γ production. Results: Twelve patients were recruited. Adverse events were mainly diarrhea, injection site reaction, pruritus, rash, nausea and fatigue. Ten patients showed a Th1 immune response to UV1 peptides, occurring early and after few vaccinations. Three patients obtained a partial response and one patient a complete response. Overall survival was 50% at 5 years. Conclusion: Treatment was well tolerated. The rapid expansion of UV1-specific Th1 cells in the majority of patients indicates synergy between UV1 vaccine and CTLA-4 blockade. This may have translated into clinical benefit, encouraging the combination of UV1 vaccination with standard of care treatment regimes containing ipilimumab/CTLA-4 blocking antibodies.

Potentially curative radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer in Norway: a population-based study of survival.

PURPOSE: The efficacy of curative irradiation in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer patients is considered limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term survival in a population-based approach. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Cases of non-small-cell lung cancer diagnosed from 1993 to 2001 were identified in the Cancer Registry of Norway. Electronic linkage with national data from the hospitals' radiotherapy verification systems identified those who received potentially curative doses (≥ 50 Gy). Hospital records were reviewed for all patients. RESULTS: A total of 497 patients (336 men) were identified with a radiation dose of ≥ 50 Gy delivered to the lung region. Of these, 41% received 60 Gy or more. The majority (70%) of patients included had advanced stage disease: 24% Stage IIIA and 46% Stage IIIB. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year observed survival rates were 53%, 16%, and 9%, respectively. Multivariable analyses identified stage and chemotherapy, but not radiation dose, as significant independent prognostic variables for survival. However, 68% of patients treated with chemotherapy participated in prospective studies with inclusion criteria that excluded patients with less favorable prognostic factors, leading to a selection bias. The number of fractions and the radiation doses varied widely among different hospitals. CONCLUSION: The long-term prognosis after radiation therapy is poor. More sophisticated, targeted, and uniform delivery of radiation therapy is needed. The apparent benefit of chemotherapy may in part be due to selection of patients with more favorable prognostic factors for this therapy.