Lung Cancer Vaccine

Kentucky’s smoking and lung cancer rates are the highest in the nation. The national incidence of lung cancer is 65.5 per 100,000 people, but in Kentucky the rate is 97.6 per 100,000. 80 percent of all individuals diagnosed with lung cancer die from the disease. Close to half of those patients undergoing surgery for non-small cell lung cancer suffer mortal recurrences within five years.

Responding to this priority need, UK researchers are treating lung cancer patients across Kentucky and beyond with experimental lung cancer vaccines developed at UK.

The program is headed by researcher John Yannelli and physician Edward Hirschowitz in the UK College of Medicine. As Kentucky’s flagship research and land-grant institution within the Commonwealth, UK is working to reduce the mortality rate. Yannelli and Hirschowitz are exploring immunotherapy to treat lung cancer, using each patient's own white blood cells to spur the development of dendritic cells (one of the most potent immune inducing cells) to reduce the risk of recurrence or maintain remissions following definitive treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

Actions and Outcomes to Date

Working with the Commonwealth Cancer Center in Danville and the Owensboro Medical Health System, Drs. Yannelli and Hirschowitz have developed and administered the experimental vaccine, 1650-G, to a first group of patients. Results from the pilot study are promising, achieving immunological responses in a majority of patients. The team will expand the pilot study to a group of 24 and 37 patients. The Kentucky Trials Network is providing pro bono administrative support, coordination, and some funds to cover shipping, outreach, and external data and safety monitoring. The UK team has also established a collaboration with IRX Therapeutics in New York to couple the simplified UK vaccine with an immune adjuvant developed by IRX.

The UK lung cancer vaccine team has published results describing their success in the small-scale trials. Based on preliminary assessments of safety and biological activity, they believe this vaccine is a logical choice to answer important questions in cancer vaccine research.