UNC Lineberger’s Benjamin G. Vincent, MD, and Christof Smith, PhD.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have designed and validated a model for predicting what might make an effective cancer vaccine against a patient’s tumor. This finding could help overcome a significant obstacle in the development of personalized cancer vaccines.
In a study published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research, UNC Lineberger scientists reported on the discovery of a method for predicting whether abnormal proteins produced by cancer cells could trigger an immune response. This is important because not all so-called “neo-antigens” created by cancer cells will trigger the body’s immune system to fight the cancer.