Suresh Nair, MD a hematologist and oncologist at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute in Eastern Pennsylvania, has dedicated his life to cancer patients for the last 35 years. He is widely known as a doctor who cares deeply about his patients.
But because he often works with patients who are suffering from some of the worst types of cancer, specifically pancreatic cancer, he’s understandably felt the frustration that he could not do more for his patients.
“I am 63 and it feels like all of the sudden we can now see how this works,” Dr. Nair says. “There is far more attention being paid to cancer treatments now because of all the new treatments. This is a historic time in the cancer world and collaboration is driving it.”
New Hope
After years of trial, error and discovery, there are new weapons now to fight this horrible disease. And one of them that is showing real promise in early trials is called ELI-002 7P, a vaccine.
Dr. Nair, who is the principal investigator of the randomized trial of this drug at his hospital, told Breaking Cancer News that the drug “teaches” the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer recurrence by targeting specific genetic mutations that cause cancer cells to grow.
After producing encouraging results in phase 1, ELI-002 7P has moved into phase 2 trials through the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance (MSK Cancer Alliance) and City of Hope.
Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is the only cancer center in the region, and one of a dozen sites in the United States where the phase 2 trial will take place.
The Cancer Institute’s membership in the MSK Cancer Alliance brings world-class care, including trials as well as the latest cancer treatments to people in this region.
MSK researchers were senior leaders in the phase 1 trial published in Nature Medicine in January 2024.
A Positive Vaccine Treatment
ELI-002 7P is an investigational therapeutic peptide cancer vaccine developed by Elicio Therapeutics Inc. It is an off-the-shelf vaccine, which means that it is not made from patients’ individual tumors.
The vaccine is intended to treat cancers driven by seven common mutations in KRAS, which is present in about 30% of all solid tumor cancers and 85-95% of KRAS mutated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients.
It works by sending signals to the immune system cells, T cells, which continue to increase in relevance and value in the cancer treatment world.
“The idea is to reprogram the tumor microenvironment,” says Nair, who notes that with pancreatic cancer, there is a sort of “cocoon” around the tumor that doesn’t allow T cells to penetrate.
This has long been an issue with this type of cancer.
“The new vaccine accumulates in the draining lymph node and sensitizes the patient’s T cells to the specific KRAS mutation that is present in their pancreatic cancer,” Nair explains. “This allows the body to mount an immune response against the cancer. It’s revolutionary.”
A Potentially Historic Breakthrough
The fact that a vaccine is showing positive responses in pancreatic cancer is a potentially enormous breakthrough for the cancer industry worldwide.
The ELI-002 vaccine works by introducing dead tumor cells containing KRAS mutations into the body, which helps the immune system produce more T cells, a type of white blood cell, against cells containing the mutation.
The body produces T cells to attack specific targets, rather than all pathogens and antigens, so the vaccine will ideally bolster the body’s ability to target and attack tumor cells.
Elicio’s cancer vaccine has the potential to target up to seven KRAS variants at once, covering 88% of pancreatic carcinoma cases, according to MIT News.
Who Qualifies for This Trial
Morgan Horton, BSN, RN, Director of Minimal Risk Research with Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, who is assisting with the study, noted that there are specific requirements regarding cell mutations.
“Trial candidates are patients who have one of seven KRAS mutations in their tumor sample,” Horton said in a press statement.
“Additionally, participants must be age 18 or older, and in stage 1, 2 or 3 of carcinoma of the pancreas. They will have had a surgical resection, have completed chemotherapy and have no evidence of disease.”
How Patients Enroll
To enter the study, physicians refer patients who are interested and eligible. Candidates will undergo a screening, which includes bloodwork, an electrocardiogram and imaging if they have not recently had a computed tomography (CT) scan.
Since the study is looking at how the vaccine affects T cells, participants will also undergo two leukaphereses, where blood cells are extracted from the patient for evaluation.
“These kinds of personalized cancer vaccines are in the early innings of a major biological breakthrough,” says Nair, “and we’re extremely excited to be a part of it. This one could determine the future of pancreatic cancer treatment and survival.”
Nair added, “Immune cells penetrating into the tumor, that’s really been the holy grail in pancreatic cancer. Big advances like Opdivo, pembrolizumab, nivolumab where we’re getting Stage 4 cancer cures, that kind of breakthrough hasn’t crossed over to pancreatic cancer because the cancer is protected by a thick stroma.”
He concluded, “Doctors like me have to be careful not to get over-excited because we research things that look good at Phase 1 and when they go to Phase 2 and 3 they don’t always work out the way we hope. But there is compelling science behind this vaccine and we’re definitely going to learn a lot.”
Bottom Line
There is of course no certainty that these trials will work. But there is real optimism among the scientists who have been working on it. Pancreatic cancer has to date been one of the most difficult and deadly cancers. If this trial continues to bring a positive response, it will be an enormous discovery that could potentially save and extend lives worldwide.
