Most primary cancers of the central nervous system are defined according to the type of cells from which they arise. The most common primary brain tumors in adults are malignant gliomas, which arise from supportive tissues in the brain, and meningiomas, nonmalignant tumors that arise from the membranes that line the skull.
Immuno Neuro Surgery
Treatment for brain tumors includes surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. These therapies may be delivered alone or in combination. It is estimated that over 18,000 primary brain tumors occur in the United States each year. Of the those 18,000, over 60% are gliomas.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and most malignant of all gliomas with 75% of patients dying within 18 months of diagnosis since they cannot be cured by surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or any other available treatment modality. The use of allogeneic/syngeneic/and xenogeneic cell lines and lysis may lead to a reduction in tumor size and perhaps rejection thereby increasing survival. In the future, allogeneic cell lines may also be used as a vaccination from common cancers. The manipulation of the immune system may be a useful way to have the body itself contribute to the treatment and prevention of cancer. Our research focuses on increasing the efficiency of the immune system to recognise and reject the malignant cells.
From the original animal experiments, the program has advanced into clinical development. A Phase II clinical study in recurrent glioblastoma was completed successfully, the FDA granted SITOIGANAP Fast Track Designation in July 2022, and an application for a Phase III registration trial is in preparation. Since 2018, SITOIGANAP has been available under Right-to-Try and early-access pathways in the USA, Israel, Germany and Australia.
Dr. Stathopoulos and his research team were among the first in the world to develop an allogeneic vaccine for GBM. For more information, please visit ERC (Epitopoietic Research Corporation).
Allogeneic vaccines
Allogeneic (pronounced "al-oh-jen-ay-ick") means "coming from another." These vaccines use cells of a particular cancer type that originally came from someone other than you.
Allogeneic vaccines are easier to make than autologous vaccines — they are more like off-the-shelf drugs than a vaccine made specifically for one person. The cells for the vaccine are grown in the lab from a stock of cancer cells kept for that purpose. Some allogeneic tumor vaccines use a mixture of cells, originally removed from several patients. The cells are treated and are usually injected along with one or more adjuvant substances to stimulate the immune system.
While the FDA has not yet approved any tumor cell vaccines for general use, they are being studied in clinical trials against several types of cancer including: melanoma, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and leukemia.