|
Rare, the cancer of the ovary is one of the most serious gynecological cancers. Close to 3 women treated on 4 see their cancer to reappear... facing this dangerous cancer, a new hope appears: a vaccine capable to warn the recidivisms and so to fight this feminine curse better. Although rare, the cancer of the ovary tends to relapse and to prove to be in this very difficult case to take in charge. Facing this feminine curse, the therapeutic vaccination is an approach completely innovative bearer of important hopes. Cancer of the ovary: of the dangerous relapses The cancer of the ovary is rare: one counts about 4 500 new cases diagnosed per year in France, but in the same 3 500 women die some. This death rate close to 75% makes some most serious of the gynecological cancers. He/it represents the 5th reason of death by cancer in the feminine population. The middle age of apparition is of 60 years, with a peak of impact between 75 and 79 years, but it can reach younger women, or even of the girls. 5 to 10% of the cases are of genetic origin, recovered in the families having a gene of BRCA1 predisposition or BRCA2 transferred. In spite of therapeutic efficient, a tracking often belated, due to the discretion of the symptoms, explain largely the very bad prognosis of this cancer. The treatment is at a time surgical, in the goal to remove the tumor completely, and chemotherapeutic, associating carboplatine and paclitaxel in drip of 6 cures. In spite of the excellent results of this therapeutic of first line, the problem that stays is the rate of recidivism raised. The women who suffer from a cancer to the belated stage are put in complete remission in 80% of the cases but 75% among them relapse on average at the end of 16 to 18 months. "The treatment of the relapse progressed" a lot precise the Pr. Pujade-Lauraine, chief of the service of medical oncology of the hotel-God. "Nevertheless, the median of survival doesn't pass the 3 notably initially" to 4 years, what is especially disappointing, in comparison with the percentage of patients in remission adds t it. Today's challenge is therefore to finalize a posterior treatment to the treatment of first intention, susceptible to avoid the relapse" indicates the Pr. Jacques Dauplat, chief of the service of surgery cancérologique of the center Jean Perrin1. An original therapeutic way: the immunotherapy All tests achieved for years with traditional treatments, in order to improve this rate of relapse, balanced themselves by failures. A completely new therapeutic approach consists in a therapeutic vaccination that would warn the recidivisms after a first successful treatment. The principle of this approach immunothérapeutique rests on the injection of a molecule baptized Abagovomab among the patients suffering from a cancer of the ovary. This vaccine stimulates the feminine immune system in such a way that this one selects and destroys the tumorous cells in order to warn all recidivism of the tumor. Zoom on the classic enough principle for a vaccine: .This molecule is an antigen conceived to look like the CA125 antigen, a protein recovered in big quantities to the surface of the tumorous cells in the cancer of the ovary. The Abagovomab is nevertheless sufficiently different from the THAT 125 to be able to lead, once injected, an immune answer of the patient directed against it, and, by there against the CA125 antigens, very near.
. A classic immune reaction occurs then: the antibodies led by the patient specifically recognize the CA125 antigens to the surface of the tumorous cells and bind themselves ideally of it, succeeding, to the elimination of the cells tumorous bearers of the antigen, henceforth recognized like strangers. If the system functions in the practice, it is therefore the patient herself that synthesizes the antibodies éradiquant her tumor. Thanks to the vaccine to basis of Abagovomab, the immune system should be capable to recognize and to attack the tumorous cells that present the CA125 protein.
It could bring the hope that the immune system starts fighting all vestigial tumorous cells and that one succeeds thus in warning all recidivism of the illness. "The medical community founds a lot of hope on the immunotherapy. She/it hopes that it will be, finally, a treatment that will permit to warn the recidivisms too often fatal in the cancer of the ovary" declares the Pr. Pujade-Lauraine. Cancer of the ovary: an international survey on a vaccine Driven in 9 countries, the survey clinical MIMOSA2 tests the efficiency of the vaccine to basis of Abagovomab. hrown in 2006 by the group pharmaceutical A.Menarini, this test constitutes the first survey of III phase of such a span, destined to test the Abagovomab in therapy of funding at women with a cancer of the ovary and having answered to the chemotherapy of first ligne3 completely. The goal is to answer this question: is this vaccine capable to warn the risk raised of recidivism among the patients? Beyond this question, the also studied criterias are the global survival, the innocuité of the treatment and the length of the immune answer. France counts since the end 2008 among the implied countries.
The first results are waited for beginning 2011 and the definitive findings will be known in 2015. "If the Abagovomab meets these expectations, the patients could fully benefit from therapeutic progress of first intention in this pathology and see their hope of survival increased in years to come" considerably concludes the Pr. Pujade-Lauraine.
2009-02-03
|
