Chemotherapy combined with an experimental vaccine, TG4010, resulted in more progression-free survival in patients with advanced lung cancer, according to a recent study published in The Lancet Oncology.
The TG4010 vaccine targets MUC1, a protein associated with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer.
The phase 2 trial, led by Elisabeth Quoix, MD, a professor of pneumonology at the Université de Strasbourg, included 148 patients with NSCLC.
Patients were divided into 2 groups:
1. One group received chemotherapy plus the TG4010 vaccine
2. A control group received chemotherapy only
At the conclusion of the 6-month study, 43% of the patients in the chemotherapy/vaccine group showed no signs of disease progression. However, only 35% of the participants in the chemotherapy control group were progression free.
These findings suggest that combining chemotherapy and the TG4010 vaccine may provide improved long-term results for patients with lung cancer in comparison with chemotherapy alone.
Source: The Lancet Oncology.