The Promise of OBX-115, a Novel TIL Therapy, in Melanoma
Source: SciTech Daily, March 2025
Cancer treatment vaccines have been in development since 2010, when the first was approved for prostate cancer, followed by another in 2015 for melanoma. While many therapeutic (rather than preventive) cancer vaccines have been researched since then, none have received approval. A major challenge in their development is identifying tumor antigens that are distinct enough from normal cells to trigger a strong immune response.
Researchers at Tufts University have now created a cancer vaccine designed to enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize tumor antigens. This approach generates a powerful immune response and establishes long-term immunological memory, reducing the likelihood of tumor recurrence. Unlike traditional cancer vaccines that target specific antigens, this new vaccine utilizes a lysate—a mix of protein fragments derived from any solid tumor—eliminating the need to identify a single tumor-specific antigen.
The vaccine they produced worked against multiple solid tumors in animal models, including melanoma, triple-negative breast cancer, Lewis lung carcinoma, and clinically inoperable ovarian cancer.