MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chrisann Kyi, MD Fellow, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1079 New York, NY 10029 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Mutation-derived tumor antigens (MTAs or neoantigens) arise as a direct result of somatic mutations, including nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions that occur during carcinogenesis. These somatic variations can be characterized via genetic sequencing and used to identify MTAs with predictive computational genomics and algorithms. To be a good candidate for a cancer vaccine, a mutated cancer protein must be visible and recognized by T cells, the soldiers of the immune system, so that they in turn can be educated to seek out and destroy cancer cells that bear the mutated protein. At annual ASCO conference this year, we are presenting an exciting clinical trial investigating the feasibility, safety, and immunogenicity of a personalized MTA-based multi-peptide vaccine in the adjuvant treatment for multiple solid tumors. In this trial, the patient’s own tumor is used to manufacture a cancer vaccine according to the mutations in their individual tumor. This vaccine is then given back to the patient in the adjuvant setting. The clinical trial is currently open and accruing at Tisch Cancer Center at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY (more…)