T-cell epitope analogues from carcinoembryonic antigen for vaccination against cancer: WO2009002418.

Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the Western world. Therapeutic vaccination to target minimal residual disease or prevent tumor recurrence represents an interesting and novel alternative for treatment of tumor diseases. T-cell peptide epitopes are commonly used as vaccine candidates for the induction of antitumor immune responses. By modifying the amino-acid sequence of the peptide at certain, so-called anchor positions, the binding affinity to MHC class I and the immunogenicity of the peptide can be improved. Vaccination with the modified peptide analogue can then be used to induce an immune response to the wild-type epitope.

Method: The present application concerns the use of peptides representing wild-type T-cell epitopes and analogues from carcinoembryonic antigen for vaccination against cancer. The stated claims also include the use of these epitopes in several other vaccine modalities, including RNA, DNA and adenoviral vector vaccines.

Conclusion: Although the available data clearly support the basic claims that some of the peptide analogues indeed are able to induce a potent immune response in mice to the corresponding wild-type epitopes, the lack of in vivo antitumor data for any of the covered vaccine modalities prevents a thorough evaluation of the stated claims.