Treatment with a hybridoma-derived autologous tumor immunoglobulin (Ig) idiotype (Id) vaccine extended disease-free survival (DFS) by 14 months in treatment-naive patients with advanced stage follicular lymphoma achieving complete response (CR) or CR unconfirmed (CRu) after chemotherapy, in a double-blind multicenter controlled phase 3 trial. Subgroup analysis identified that patients with the IgM heavy chain isotype and therefore an IgM-Id vaccine, had greater time to relapse than patient with the IgG isotype and IgG-Id vaccine. Because other trials of Id vaccines have not shown such significant efficacy, the researchers theorized that the “the isotype of the Fc region may influence immunogenicity of Id vaccines. If confirmed, our findings will have profound implications on Id vaccine production strategies and clinical development for FL and other B-cell malignancies.”
Complete results and analysis is published online in the May 31, 2011, edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2011/05/31/JCO.2010.33.3005).