Geron Corp (GERN)

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pancreatic cancer vaccine :::

Pancreatic Cancer VaccineAugust 5 - More than 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and about the same number die. Chances of surviving more than five years with this disease are low. But researchers hope to reverse that trend with a new vaccine.

When Ron Windle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he never imagined he'd be alive and still walking hand-in-hand with his wife three years later. "I was afraid," Windle says. "I still have many things to do in life."

He had surgery, chemo and radiation. Still, he only had a 20-percent chance of surviving five years based on statistics. That was until he enrolled in a clinical trial testing a new vaccine.

During the study, doctors at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore give patients the vaccine after surgery and again after chemo and radiation.

"I think we're very encouraged. What makes it exciting is the science behind the vaccine," says Daniel Laheru, M.D., an oncologist at The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The vaccine uses genetically altered cells to create a molecule. The molecule lures immune cells and retrains them to recognize the tumor as cancer and fight it.

Dr. Laheru tells Ivanhoe, "Essentially, it teaches the immune system to recognize those pancreas cancer cells as being foreign and attack them specifically."

So far, he says the results have been encouraging. With the vaccine, 76 percent of patients are alive after two years, compared to 42 percent of patients who only received chemo and radiation.

Windle is one of the lucky ones. Today, he's cancer-free! "I'm sure it's why I'm here today. I've had many MRIs and cat scans, and there's no sign of cancer. None," he says, and he hopes to continue beating the odds.

The vaccine is injected about eight weeks after surgery and again after chemo and radiation treatment. Researchers at Johns Hopkins will conduct another study to refine the vaccine's targets. That study will start next year. If results come back as expected, they will apply for FDA approval.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Vanessa Wasta
Assistant Director, Media and Web Projects
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 573
Baltimore, MD 21231
[phone]
http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org