Interim results from a Phase I/II clinical study suggesting that a single vaccine can treat myeloma and other cancers has generated a deluge of interest in the popular press recently.
Last week, several newspapers published articles about a therapeutic vaccine that has the potential to train the body’s immune system to seek out and destroy myeloma cells. These stories were based on a press release issued by the Israeli biotechnology company, Vaxil Biotherapeutics.
The vaccine, known as ImMucin, targets a protein called MUC-1 found in abundance on the surface of 90% of cancer cells including myeloma cells. When the vaccine is injected into the patient’s body, it stimulates an immune response which identifies and removes cancer cells which express MUC-1.
ImMucin is currently being investigated in a Phase I/II study in myeloma patients in Israel. Of the ten patients recruited to date, seven have successfully completed treatment. Although the results have not yet been published in a recognised peer-reviewed medical journal, the press release stated that ImMucin generated a robust and specific immune response after 2 - 4 doses out of a maximum of 12 doses in all patients with no side-effects.
Importantly, the vaccine showed signs of clinical efficacy, with some patients demonstrating a reduction in their myeloma one month after completing treatment; three patients showed a complete response (no detectable paraprotein).
While ImMucin appears to be safe and the initial results in myeloma patients promising, it remains too preliminary to conclude that the vaccine is an effective treatment for myeloma or any other cancer.
More work with a much larger number of patients will need to be carried out and followed-up for a longer period of time to prove that ImMucin is safe and effective in myeloma patients.
About MUC-1:
MUC-1 belongs to a family of sugar-coated proteins called mucins found in normal cells such as those lining the surface of organs including the lung, stomach, intestines and eyes. Mucins protect the body from infection by preventing pathogens such as bacteria and viruses from reaching the cell surface.
Excessive amounts of MUC-1 are associated with different types of cancer. However, in cancer cells, the sugar make up of MUC-1 is different to that on normal cells. This means that MUC-1 on cancer cells can be targeted without affecting normal cells.
About vaccines:
A vaccine is a biological preparation which improves the immune system’s natural ability to protect the body against disease caused by “foreign agents”. Originally, vaccines were developed to protect the body against infectious microbes. The vaccine itself is made up of a harmless version of the microbe that does not cause disease but stimulates an immune response against the microbe. More recently, cancer vaccines have been developed to prevent or treat existing cancers; usually a protein that is unique to the cancer is used as the target for the immune system to act on.
ImMucin is one of many MUC-1 based cancer vaccines currently being tested in myeloma and other cancers in over 30 clinical studies worldwide.
About the ImMucin study:
The ImMucin study is being conducted by Vaxil Biotherapeutics at the Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. A Phase I/II study is currently ongoing, with a total of 15 myeloma patients expected to enrol. There is no information as yet if the study will open elsewhere in the world.

• For more information on ImMucin contact Maggie.Lai@myeloma.org.uk or call the Infoline: 0800 980 3332
• Search our Clinical Trial Tracker for clinical studies currently open for recruitment in the UK: http://www.myeloma.org.uk/patient-information/clinical-trials/patient-trial-tracker/