J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 123(1): 25-31, 2022

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Feature topic

DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALIZED CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY AIMING FOR LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AFTER RESECTION OF REFRACTORY CANCER

Glypican-3 (GPC3) peptide vaccine therapy confirmed that peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes can be detected in the peripheral blood of 80％ hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), hepatoblastoma, etc. patients who received the therapy. Tumor shrinkage was seen even in some cases of advanced cancer, and GPC3 peptide vaccine therapy seems to be highly effective in preventing recurrence after curative surgery. The 8-year survival rate after surgery for HCC expressing GPC3 is only about 20％, whereas that in a postoperative GPC3 peptide vaccine therapy group was about 60％. Furthermore, all 5 children with refractory hepatoblastoma achieved recurrence-free survival for more than 6 years with GPC3 peptide vaccine therapy alone. With the development of an individualized cancer recurrence prevention vaccine therapy that includes some common cancer antigens and neoantigens, the recurrence of even refractory cancers would be less likely after curative resection. If it recurs, the cancer can be eradicated with the personalized T cell therapy that is being developed at the same time. Through these strategies, we hope to achieve a significant improvement in the prognosis of refractory cancer patients. In the future, we are aiming for an era in which refractory cancer can be completely cured by a combination of surgery that does not require lymph node dissection and personalized immunotherapy.

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