DNA vaccine coding for the rhesus prostate specific antigen delivered by intradermal electroporation in patients with relapsed prostate cancer

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 31; no. 37; pp. 3843 - 3848
• Main Authors: Eriksson, Fredrik, Tötterman, Thomas, Maltais, Anna-Karin, Pisa, Pavel, Yachnin, Jeffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 20.08.2013; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Aged; Allergy and Immunology; Analgesia; anesthetics; Animals; antigens; Applied microbiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Electroporation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; immune response; Immunogenicity; Immunotherapy - methods; Injections; Injections, Intradermal; Intradermal delivery; Macaca mulatta - genetics; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Middle Aged; Mortality; Patients; Peptides; Prostate cancer; Prostate-Specific Antigen - genetics; Prostate-Specific Antigen - immunology; Prostate-Specific Antigen - pharmacokinetics; Prostate-Specific Antigen - therapeutic use; prostatic neoplasms; Prostatic Neoplasms - immunology; Prostatic Neoplasms - therapy; Radiation therapy; recombinant vaccines; relapse; T-lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; toxicity; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; vaccination; Vaccination - methods; Vaccine; Vaccines; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Vaccines, DNA - administration & dosage; Electroporation; Vaccine; Prostate cancer; Intradermal delivery; Cancer; Human; Urinary system disease; Prostate disease; Malignant tumor; Genetic vaccine; Antigen; Urogenital system; Male genital diseases; Prostate
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.06.063

•DNA vaccine coding for Rhesus PSA.•Subcutaneous vaccination with skin electroporation as mode of delivery.•Useful clinical model for studying immune therapies in prostate cancer. We tested safety, clinical efficacy and immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine coding for rhesus prostate specific antigen (PSA) delivered by intradermal injection and skin electroporation. Fifteen patients with biochemical relapse of prostate cancer without macroscopic disease participated in this phase I study. Patients were started on a 1 month course of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prior to treatment. Vaccine doses ranged from 50 to 1600μg. Study subjects received five vaccinations at four week intervals. All patients have had at least one year of follow-up. No systemic toxicity was observed. Discomfort from electroporation did not require analgesia or topical anesthetic. No clinically significant changes in PSA kinetics were observed as all patients required antiandrogen therapy shortly after completion of the 5 months of vaccination due to rising PSA. Immunogenicity, as measured by T-cell reactivity to the modified PSA peptide and to a mix of overlapping PSA peptides representing the full length protein, was observed in some patients. All but one patient had pre-study PSA specific T-cell reactivity. ADT alone resulted in increases in T-cell reactivity in most patients. Intradermal vaccination with skin electroporation is easily performed with only minor discomfort for the patient. Patients with biochemical relapse of prostate cancer are a good model for testing immune therapies.