These news reports have been selected as presenting advances in tumor immunology that have been reported in the last month. Links added in the last update are marked - NEW. To suggest additional links or if you discover that a link is broken, please contact the Editorial Office.

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Dec 13 - BioLineRx to Develop and Commercialize Novel Peptide Drug Candidates Discovered by Compugen
BioLineRx and Compugen Ltd. have entered into a collaboration agreement for the purpose of developing and commercializing mutually selected Compugen-discovered drug candidates for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. According to the agreement, Compugen will provide promising drug candidates, primarily peptides, which were identified using its predictive drug discovery platforms, while BioLineRx will develop these candidates through Phase II clinical trials, with the goal of ultimately licensing them to pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development and commercialization.
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Dec 13 - Potential New Treatment for Liver Cancer Discovered
For the first time, researchers have discovered a special type of molecular regulator called a micro-RNA (miR-124) that could be used someday as a treatment for liver cancer. The same team also found a mechanism in mice that ultimately causes normal liver cells to transform into cancerous ones.
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Dec 18 – Anti-cancer vaccines emerging
“We really are in a transformative moment,’’ said Dr. Glenn Dranoff, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a medical oncologist and immunologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
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Dec 20 – Vaccine can kill cancer cells
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a promising vaccine that can kill cancer cells. The method has been patented, and the researchers hope to test it in humans in two to three years. They developed a way to block the natural ability of cancer cells to suppress the immune system. Once blocked, the cancer cell can be attacked directly by specialized blood cells formed by the vaccines.
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Dec 20 – Agenus and NewVac Enter Into Agreement in the Area of Personalized Cancer Vaccines
Agenus Inc and NewVac LLC have entered into a license, development and manufacturing technology transfer agreement for Agenus’ Oncophage ® (HSPPC-96; vitespen) vaccine. Oncophage is approved in Russia for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma in patients at intermediate risk of recurrence.
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Dec 21 – Cancer immunotherapy comes of age
Review: Mellman I, Goukos G, Dranoff G. Cancer immunotherapy comes of age. Nature 2011; 480: 480-489.
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Jan 3 – Heat Biologics raising $4M, eyes more cancer immunotherapy clinical trials
Heat Biologics, already in phase 2 clinical trials with an experimental treatment for nonsmall cell lung cancer, has raised $4.1 million to accelerate its cancer immunotherapy research.
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Jan 5 – Galena Biopharma: An Emerging Biotech Company with Promising Cancer Vaccines
Galena plans to initiate Phase III PRESENT (Prevention of Recurrence in Early-Stage, Node-Positive Breast Cancer with Low to Intermediate HER2 Expression with NeuVax Treatment) study in the first half of 2012 under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA).
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Jan 5 – Novel Brain Tumor Vaccine Acts Like Bloodhound to Locate Cancer Cells
A national phase II clinical trial will test ICT-107, a novel brain tumor vaccine in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and highest grade malignant glioma.
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Jan 6 – Military’s Groundbreaking Vaccine Targets Breast Cancer
Military researchers at the Department of Defense have developed a cutting-edge cancer vaccine, dubbed E-75, that’s slashing breast cancer recurrence rates and giving some survivors a better shot at a cancer-free future.
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Jan 9 – Technology for cancer immune therapies licensed to NexImmune
Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer has granted a license for Artificial Immune nanotechnology to NexImmune, a startup company formed in part by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty members who are also involved in the development of the technology. AIM, which involves engineering artificial cells to stimulate specific immune responses, represents a potentially important advance in the development of immunotherapies for a variety of cancers and other diseases.
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Jan 10 – New vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice
Professors at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, in collaboration with the May Clinic in Arizona, developed a vaccine that dramatically reduces tumors in a mouse model.
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Jan 11 - Generex's Antigen Express Makes Progress In Early Stage Breast Cancer
Herceptin was found to reduce the risk of recurrence 46% in women with early stage over expressing HER2 breast cancer and significantly improving disease free survival at two years, according to results reported for the first time at the ASCO Annual Meeting.
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Jan 11 – Oncothyreon awaits key lung cancer vaccine data
An interim look at a pivotal trial of Oncothyreon's experimental vaccine, Stimuvax could signal whether it improves survival by at least 6 months in newly-diagnosed lung cancer patients who have tumors confined to the chest cavity, but are not eligible for surgery.
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Jan 12 – Cancer immunotherapy partners face big test with Phase III program
Merck KGaA and Oncothyreon will learn soon whether their lung cancer vaccine has a shot at being one of the next bright lights in the cancer immunotherapy arena, with an interim analysis set for this quarter expected to determine whether the pivotal trial for the program will continue, Reuters reported.
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