Scientists know that lung cancer cells produce substances that would be expected to cause the immune system to attack and eliminate them. But for unknown reasons, the immune system does not kill lung cancer cells.
The vaccine used in this trial is meant to teach the immune system to respond to lung cancer cells. It does this by taking advantage of one of the strongest human immune responses – the response to
antigens on cells from animals such as pigs or mice. Such antigens provoke a rapid immune response that destroys foreign cells within hours.
The HyperAcute vaccine consists of killed lung cancer cells that have been genetically engineered to produce mouse antigens on their surfaces. Introducing these cells into patients with lung cancer will cause the body to produce immune cells that recognize not only the mouse antigens but other cell-surface molecules characteristic of the killed lung cancer cells.
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