(Futurity) In patients with an especially aggressive form of glioblastoma, the vaccine caused no serious side effects and prolonged patients’ overall survival compared to historical outcomes after standard-of-care surgery and chemo-radiotherapy. One long-term survivor remains recurrence-free nearly five years later.


The results of the phase 1 trial, conducted at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis Medicine, appear in Nature Cancer.


The study was led jointly by Mass General Brigham and Geneos Therapeutics, a Philadelphia-based biotechnology company.


“We are extremely encouraged by these results,” says Tanner M. Johanns, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Division of Oncology in the medicine department at WashU Medicine.


“This kind of vaccine is a first for glioblastoma, and it is exciting to think how we can leverage this individualized therapeutic DNA cancer vaccine platform to make a positive impact on the lives of patients who are fighting this disease. Additionally, combination therapies leveraging this personalized platform are currently being investigated at WashU to test if outcomes may be improved further.”