243with MyVax is safe and patients often mount tumor-specifi c immune responses
(Timmerman et al. 2009 ). These results form the basis of a current pivotal phase III
trial of MyVax in follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
OncoVAX
OncoVAX ® (Vaccinogen Inc) is a vaccine from the patient’s own tumor with or
without fresh frozen Bacillus Calmette-Guerin as an adjuvant. The cells are dissoci-
ated, irradiated to make them non-tumorigenic and administered to the patient by
three weekly injections, starting 4 weeks after surgery. A booster vaccination is
administered 6 months later. OncoVAX ® is administered to patients with colon can-
cer after surgery to reduce recurrence and deaths. Results of a phase III clinical trial
showed signifi cantly improvement in 5-year overall survival and recurrence-free
survival in stage II colon cancer and some benefi ts in stage III colon cancer (Hanna
et al. 2006 ). This study was accepted by the FDA as supportive data for the next
phase IIIb clinical trial where disease-free survival will be used as a clinical end-
point for the interim analysis.
Tumor Cells Treated with Dinitrophenyl
M-Vax (AVAX Inc) is a vaccine based on modifi cation of autologous tumor cells
with the hapten, dinitrophenyl (DNP), which binds to molecules on the surface of
cells and helps trigger immune responses. DNP-treated cancer cells are combined
with an adjuvant, bacillus Calmette-Guerin, and the vaccine is injected intrader-
mally into cancer patients. The patient’s immune system is then better able to rec-
ognize, locate and combat remaining cancer cells that may have metastasized to
other areas of the body. It is these remaining cancer cells that, if left undetected and
untreated, can potentially form additional cancerous tumors and eventually lead to
death. Immune responses help the body determine which foreign proteins to attack.
The ability of DNP to modify proteins and render them more easily identifi ed as
foreign to the immune system has been well documented over the past thirty years.
Clinical trials have been conducted in stage III melanoma patients with a 5-year
survival rate was 44 % as compared to 20–25 % with surgery alone (Berd 2004 ).
This vaccine may help prevent cancer recurrence and increase the long-term sur-
vival rate of patients with other cancers as well. O-Vax is in phase II clinical trials
for ovarian cancer.
Prophage
Prophage (vitespen, Agenus) is a patient-specifi c and tumor-specifi c therapeutic
cancer vaccine, which contains the heat shock protein, gp96, and associated pep-
tides that are purifi ed from the patients’ own tumor tissue (Wood and Mulders
Personalized Cancer Vaccines