Cancer Vaccine ELI-002 2P Extends Recurrence-Free Survival in Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer Patients

                                                       Cancer Vaccine ELI-002 2P Extends Recurrence-Free Survival in Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer Patients

Science Daily (Reported by Zhang Mengran, Beijing, August 11) ; Nature Medicine

A phase 1 clinical trial published in Nature Medicine on August 11 shows that the off-the-shelf peptide vaccine ELI-002 2P can extend long-term recurrence-free survival in some patients with pancreatic or colorectal cancer. The vaccine targets KRAS mutant Proteins, stimulates T cell responses, and demonstrates promising results with 68% of participants developing potent T cell specificity against KRAS-mutated tumor Proteins. Pancreatic cancer patients receiving the vaccine achieved an average overall survival of 29 months and a recurrence-free survival exceeding 15 months, surpassing historical controls.

Pancreatic and colorectal cancers have high recurrence rates even after surgery and chemotherapy, especially when minimal residual cancer cells remain. Traditional cancer vaccines often fail to deliver effectively to lymph nodes, the hub of immune responses, limiting their efficacy.

The phase 1 clinical trial, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, enrolled 25 patients (20 with pancreatic cancer and 5 with colorectal cancer) who had completed standard treatments but still showed signs of residual cancer cells in their blood. They received the ELI-002 2P vaccine, which targets lymph nodes with KRAS mutant peptides to help the immune system recognize and attack KRAS-mutated cancer cells.

After an average follow-up period of nearly 20 months, 68% of the subjects developed a strong T cell response specific to KRAS-mutated tumor Proteins. Notably, patients with the strongest T cell responses survived longer and had longer cancer-free periods than those with weaker responses.

In pancreatic cancer patients who received the vaccine, the average overall survival after vaccination was 29 months, with an average recurrence-free survival exceeding 15 months—outperforming historical control data. Additionally, in a subset of patients, ELI-002 2P induced T cell responses against other patient-specific KRAS mutations not included in the vaccine, suggesting early signs of personalized tumor antigen targeting.

The research team notes that ELI-002 2P helps train immune cells to more effectively recognize and attack pancreatic and colorectal cancers. The vaccine is currently undergoing further testing in a phase 2 randomized trial.