Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) is an essential factor in the tumor angiogenesis and growth of pancreatic cancer. Immunotherapy using epitope peptide for VEGFR2 (VEGFR2-169) that successfully induced specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to the peptides in cancer patients is expected to improve the clinical outcome. Therefore, a phase I clinical trial using a combination of VEGFR2-169 with gemcitabine was conducted for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. VEGFR2-169 peptide was subcutaneously injected weekly in a dose-escalation manner (doses of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0mg/body, 6 patients/1 cohort) . No dose limiting toxicity was observed. Specific CTLs reacting to VEGFR2-169 peptide were induced in 11 (61%) of the 18 patients. From an immunological point of view, the optimal dose might be 2.0mg/body. A randomized Phase II/III clinical trial started in January 2009 to demonstrate the clinical benefits of VEGFR2-169 for advanced pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine.
