Experimental Vaccine Targets a Protein Linked to Many Cases of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

By Matt McMillen, WebMD Health News, Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Oct. 21, 2011 — A cancer vaccine shows potential to slow the spread of cancer among lung cancer patients, a study shows.

The experimental vaccine targets a protein linked to more than half of all cases of non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

The study is published in The Lancet Oncology.

The study was conducted in Europe and included 148 patients with advanced lung cancer. It was led by Elisabeth Quiox, MD, a professor of pneumonology at the Université de Strasbourg, France.

The patients were divided into two groups. Both groups received standard chemotherapy while one group received the experimental vaccine known as TG4010. The vaccine stimulates the immune system to destroy cancer cells.