21P PDC*lung01 cancer vaccine

In this video, Prof Em Johan Vansteenkiste, thoracic oncologist at the University Hospitals Leuven, shares the primary results of a phase I/II study evaluating the PDC*lung01 (IMP) cancer vaccine. This vaccine is based on irradiated plasmacytoid dendritic cell line loaded with 7 HLA-A*02:01-restricted tumor peptides. In the presented study, 73 HLA-A*02:01 positive NSCLC patients received IMP either at low (cohort A1) or high dose (cohort A2) in the adjuvant setting (resected stage II/IIIA), and either at low (cohort B1) or high dose (cohort B2) in combination with pembrolizumab (200 mg q3w) in untreated patients with stage IV disease and a PD-L1 expression ≥50%. 

In cohort B2 of the study, a confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 55% was reported, with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 8.87 months. Interestingly, this corresponds to a 16% increase in ORR and a 2.4-month improvement in median PFS, compared to the results obtained with pembrolizumab monotherapy in Keynote-042. Furthermore, the vaccine came with a mild safety profile. Finally, the investigators reported a correlation between the intensity of the immune response and the PFS.