A conventional flu vaccine administered directly into melanoma tumors might enhance the immune system’s ability to combat cancer, a new study has reportedly found. This preliminary small-scale study has garnered interest beyond the realm of oncology.
Patients first received a standard flu shot in the arm. A couple of days later and again 12 days after that, their melanoma tumors were injected with the same vaccine.
For most patients, the tumor dose was about triple that of a standard flu shot. No serious side effects reportedly emerged.
What the Study Found
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center research involved just 18 people, all with melanoma tumors that could be surgically removed. By the time of surgery, tumors in seven patients showed signs of shrinking and three had no cancer cells left.
Dr. Ian Garbarine, a surgery resident at Ohio State, presented the findings at a cancer immunotherapy meeting in Phoenix. The vaccine reportedly does not teach the body to recognize cancer.
Instead, it stirred up trouble inside the tumor, drawing in immune cells that collect bits of the dying tumor and point the body’s defenses at it. Researchers revealed they do not yet know exactly why the approach worked.
Once there, they collect bits of the dying tumor and point the body’s defenses at it. Garbarine’s team is reportedly already testing the flu shot in a follow-up trial.
How Many Vaccine Doses Were Needed?
First, patients got a conventional arm flu vaccination. The same vaccination was injected into their melanoma tumors a few days later and again twelve days later.
The tumor dose was almost three times that of a typical flu vaccine for the majority of individuals. There were reportedly no significant adverse effects.
Only eighteen individuals with surgically removable melanoma tumors participated in the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center study. Three patients had no cancer cells remaining at the time of surgery, while seven patients’ tumors had begun to decrease.
Dr. Catherine Wu, a Dana-Farber cancer vaccine researcher, called the work exciting.
A flu vaccine, she said, can “give the immune system a kick in the pants.”
Know Why Caution Is Needed With Vaccine
Zloza, a researcher at Rush University Medical Center who has studied the approach, said shots given into the muscle reportedly protect against influenza but do nothing against a tumor.
Marcin Kortylewski, a cancer immunologist at City of Hope in California who had no involvement in the trial, said he found the idea appealing and described the procedure as simple and well tolerated by patients.
He cautioned, however, that other immune-boosting therapies have shown early promise only to fall short in later-stage trials.
“This is early-stage, and it requires accessible lesions for local delivery,” Kortylewski said.
