Ovarian Cancer
Because ovarian cancer (OC) is highly metastatic, characterized by continuous remission and susceptibility to recurrence, it is the eighth most common cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide. Alfa Cytology is a world leader in the development of cancer vaccines. With our extensive experience and advanced platform, we can provide the best vaccine development services for ovarian cancer.
Introduction to Ovarian Cancer
Platinum-based and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy has long been considered the standard first-line agent for OC. Cancer immunotherapy is the fifth pillar of core cancer care after surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy, and has the opportunity to be integrated into the OC standard of care.
Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
OC is a good candidate for immunotherapy because multiple studies have consistently demonstrated a clear positive association between the increase in CD3 + tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and the increase in overall survival. These observations strongly support the idea that OC is immunogenic and that T cells play an important role in inhibiting OC. Cancer vaccination becomes an attractive method to activate endogenous T cells to destroy tumors and induce long-term immune memory against OC.
Fig. 1 Strategies for presentation of tumor-associated antigens in ovarian cancer vaccines. (Chow, S., et al., 2020)
Ovarian Cancer Vaccine
The concept of using effector T cells to recognize antigen targets for cancer therapy has been studied for over a century. In addition to antigen classification, vaccines can also be classified into various types based on their mode of action. The following are some types of vaccines related to ovarian cancer that are actively being developed and their principles.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Tumor Antigen Peptide Vaccine | Tumor antigens can be synthesized into short or long peptides for vaccine development. Amino acid residues in short peptides can bind directly to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) Class I molecules to activate CD8 + T cells. There are also studies using peptide vaccines targeting VEGF as a potential therapy for ovarian cancer. Ultimately, it will trigger antibodies and inhibit tumor growth by blocking VEGF-dependent angiogenesis |
| Nucleic Acid Vaccine | DNA and RNA vaccines have shown good safety and immunogenicity in cancer and can be easily amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Recently, studies have tested nucleic acid vaccines as a therapy for ovarian cancer, but so far they have not been approved. |
| Virus Vaccine | Viral vector vaccines are widely used in cancer immunotherapy because many viruses are naturally immunogenic and can infect mammalian cells. In recent years, the unique characteristics of viral vectors have aroused great interest in the effective targeting and therapy of ovarian cancer. Its molecular biology, mechanism of action against ovarian cancer cells, and in vivo experiments are worthy of further research. |
| DC-based Vaccine | Dendritic cells (DC) are specialized cells in the immune system that act as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity and are essential for regulating the immune response. Multiple studies have revealed the relationship between DC infiltration and ovarian cancer prognosis, and DC-based therapy may have potential effects on ovarian cancer |
Our Service
OC is a highly heterogeneous disease, with different subtypes in pathogenesis, origin, molecular changes, and prognosis. Alfa Cytology provides various cancer vaccine development services that may be suitable for many types of OC.
The Process of Ovarian Cancer Vaccine Development
- Sequencing
- Mutation identifying
- Antigens recognizing
- Vaccine developing
- In vitro preclinical testing
- In vivo preclinical testing
Overall survival rates for ovarian cancer remain low, but cancer vaccines are effective against OC. Alfa Cytology is committed to the research and development of cancer vaccines, from the discovery of cancer antigens, and the development of different types of vaccines, to vaccine research for different cancer types, providing one-stop services. If you are interested in our service, please contact us.
Reference
- Chow, S., et al.; (2020) Development of Therapeutic Vaccines for Ovarian Cancer. Vaccines 8, 657. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8040657