Immunologically oriented therapy (immunotherapy) has arguably proved to be the most effective method for treating advanced melanoma, the prototypical chemotherapy-resistant solid tumor. The efficacy and benefit of immunotherapy for other tumors, including those that are at least partly responsive to chemotherapy, is less well established. Breast cancer, one of the most common of the solid tumors in humans, is partially responsive to traditional chemotherapy. We believe that breast cancer patients, like melanoma patients, will benefit from the application of immunotherapy techniques. Here we review the different forms of laser immunotherapy (LIT), a key type of immunologically oriented therapy, discuss its use in melanoma and in breast cancer, and discuss its potentially pivotal role in the immunotherapy armamentarium.
A novel method, an in situ autologous whole-cell cancer vaccine (inCVAX), is being developed by Immunophotonics, Inc., for the treatment of metastatic cancers. inCVAX combines phototherapy and immunotherapy to potentially induce a systemic anti-tumor immune response in the hosts. Immunophotonics and its academic partners have spent years conducting nonclinical research, developing CMC techniques and conducting clinical research. In 2015 the company initiated a late-stage (II/III) clinical trial in South America for advanced breast cancer patients. The process of developing the inCVAX approach from a laboratory setting into clinical trials requires significant efforts from a group of dedicated engineers, scientists, and physicians. The growth of the company and its business advances demonstrated the determination of a group of visionary investors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. This talk will chronicle the milestones of the scientific achievement, medical progress, and business development of Immunophotonics.
Laser immunotherapy (LIT), a novel technique with a local intervention to induce systemic antitumor effects, was developed to treat metastatic cancers. The pre-clinical studies of LIT have shown its unique characteristics in generating a specific antitumor immunity in treating metastatic tumors in rats and mice. For late-stage, metastatic breast cancer patients, who were considered to be out of other available treatment options, we conducted a small Phase II clinical trial using LIT starting in 2009 in Lima, Peru. This Phase II study was closed in December of 2012, as acknowldged by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Peur letter 438-2014-OGITT/INS dated March 5th, 2014. Ten patients were enrolled and received LIT in one or multiple 4-week treatment cycles. At the study closing date, four patients were alive and two of them remained cancer free. Here, following the successful conclusion of our Phase II study, we report the clinical effects of LIT on metastatic breast cancer patients. Specifically, we present the overall status of all the patients three years after the treatment and also the outcomes of two long-term surviving patients.
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