Selection of immunochemotherapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K09050
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Gastroenterology
• Research Institution: Jikei University School of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Koido Shigeo 東京慈恵会医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (70266617)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 本間 定 東京慈恵会医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (50192323)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: WT1 / 膵癌 / がんワクチン / 免疫療法 / 細胞障害性T細胞 / ペプチドワクチン / 樹状細胞ワクチン / 免疫化学療法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the efficacy of a Wilms' tumor gene 1 (WT1) peptide vaccine combined with gemcitabine (GEMWT1) and compared it with gemcitabine (GEM) monotherapy for advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) in a randomized phase II study. GEM plus the WT1 peptide vaccine prolonged progression free survival (PFS) and may improve 1-year overall survival (OS)% in patients with PDA. These clinical effects were associated with the induction of WT1-specific immune responses. Moreover, WT1 protein expression was detected in the nucleus and cytoplasm of all PDA cells. OS and disease free survival (DFS) times for patients with PDA following surgical resection demonstrated that the OS and DFS times of patients with weak cytoplasmic WT1 expression were significantly prolonged compared with those of patients with moderate-to-strong cytoplasmic WT1 expression. Therefore, the results support the development of WT1-targeted therapies to prolong survival in all patients with PDA.

Free Research Field

がんワクチン