MUC1 vaccine

The MUC1 vaccine is an investigational therapeutic and preventive cancer vaccine designed to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cells expressing the tumor-associated antigen mucin 1 (MUC1). The abnormal form of the MUC1 protein is overexpressed or aberrantly glycosylated in many cancers—including breast, colon, pancreatic, gastric adenocarcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and others—making it a promising target for immunotherapy. The most common forms of the MUC1 vaccine are peptide-based vaccines (sometimes conjugated with carriers like KLH or combined with adjuvants such as poly-ICLC) and dendritic cell-based vaccines pulsed with the MUC1 antigen. Upon administration—typically subcutaneously—the host immune system mounts both humoral (antibody-mediated) and cellular responses against tumor cells expressing abnormal or overexpressed MUC1. This includes activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes that can directly kill cancer cells[6][8][10]. Multiple clinical trials have evaluated various formulations for prevention of adenoma recurrence in colorectal cancer risk populations as well as treatment of advanced solid tumors and early-stage breast cancer[5][6][7][8]. Tecemotide (Stimuvax) is a liposomal formulation based on BLP25 that targets the same antigen.

Other names

Anti-MUC1 vaccineAnti-MUC-1 vaccineAnti-MUC 1 vaccineMUC1-KLH vaccine/QS21TecemotideStimuvax