Preliminary results for the phase 1 trial of a folate receptor alpha adjuvant cancer vaccine in ovarian and endometrial cancer patients

Background Folate Receptor Alpha (FRa) is an immunogenic protein that is over-expressed in breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer (OC). In fact, FRa expression in malignant cells is 20-fold higher compared to normal cells. We have begun a phase 1 clinical trial with E39, an HLA-A2 restricted, FRa peptide vaccine. The vaccine is administered in the adjuvant setting to prevent recurrences in high-risk, endometrial and OC patients (pts) rendered clinically diseasefree with standard-of-care therapy. Here, we summarize toxicity and in vivo immunologic responses after enrollment of three dose cohorts.