A recent study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new vaccine in the eradication of preclinical tumors caused by human papillomavirus.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are the cause of all cervical cancers and many oropharyngeal and anogenital cancers.
- A single intramuscular injection of the new lentiviral vaccine completely eradicated tumors in 100% of mice and was also effective against lung metastases.
- The treatment will be tested on different patients with cervical or oropharyngeal cancers in early 2024.
Human papillomavirus infections are the cause of all cervical cancers and many oropharyngeal and anogenital cancers. Currently available anti-HPV vaccines induce neutralizing antibodies, but have no therapeutic effect on already established tumors. This means that even in vaccinated people, there is still a risk of developing HPV-related cancer. This is where the new lentiviral vaccine candidate (of which HIV is the best known of the lentivirus family) comes into play.
HPV: the vaccine eliminated tumors in 100% of animals
As part of the study, in the journal EmboMolecularMedicine, the researchers administered a single intramuscular injection of this vaccine to mice carrying already present HPV-induced tumors. The results were significant, and for good reason, the vaccine allowed the total eradication of the tumor and the complete elimination of metastases in 100% of the laboratory animals. It was also effective against lung metastases, which is encouraging for the treatment of advanced cancers. The vaccine will be tested in humans, more precisely on different patients with cervical or oropharyngeal cancers, from the beginning of 2024 to Moffitt Cancer Institute from Florida in the United States.
Combining lentiviral vaccine with checkpoint inhibitor therapy
What makes this vaccine even more interesting is that researchers have discovered that this new lentiviral vaccine can be combined with checkpoint inhibitor therapy to maximize its therapeutic effect. This combination has shown encouraging results as an immuno-oncotherapy against HPV malignancies, paving the way for new strategies to combat this form of cancer. Checkpoint inhibitor treatments, also known as immunotherapy, are already used in the treatment of certain types of cancer and can strengthen the immune response against cancer cells.
