Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Residence of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, discusses the background of the prophage G-200 vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Research in this space originated from the immunologist Pramod Srivastava, MD, PhD. In the 1980s, Parsa says, Srivastava discovered that heat shock proteins carry peptides that are able to provoke a tumor-specific immune response. Research was then conducted to define the mechanism and move G-200 into the clinical realm.

Currently, Parsa is the study chair for the Alliance-sponsored clinical trial. Parsa also says that he is the most experienced clinician with G-200 in brain tumor patients and was the principal investigator in phase I and phase II studies. These studies led to the randomized, three-arm, phase II Alliance trial.

This is an exciting time, Parsa says, as G-200 offers hope of a specific immune response with minimal toxicity. Parsa says he would be surprised if trial endpoints were not met.

This research originated from the immunologist Pramod Srivastava, MD, PhD

It was discovered that heat shock proteins carry peptides that can provoke a tumor-specific immune response

Parsa is currently the study chair for the Alliance-sponsored clinical trial

Parsa was also a principal investigator in phase I and phase II studies

Prophage G-200 offers hope of a specific immune response with minimal toxicity

Parsa says he would be surprised if clinical trial endpoints were not met

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Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, discusses the background of the prophage G-200 vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Background of the Prophage G-200 Vaccine for Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Residence of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, describes the administration of the prophage G-200 for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

A patient does not have to go through leukapheresis, nor receive additional cytokines such as GM-CSF, a common approach for many types of vaccines for brain tumor patients. As a part of standard of care, a patient undergoes surgical resection. That resected tissue is used to make the vaccine. In a majority of cases, patients who have a recurrent glioblastoma can have the vaccine made from surgical resection without an issue.

A physician will administer as many doses as a patient can tolerate with regard to the amount of vaccine, up to six, Parsa says.

The patient does not have to go through leukapheresis, nor receive additional cytokines

Resected tissue is used to make the vaccine

The patient will receive as many doses as he/she is able to tolerate

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, describes the administration of the prophage G-200 for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Administering the G-200 Vaccine

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, Associate Professor in Residence of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, describes the development and clinical trial involving prophage G-200.

Prophage G-200 is an autologous, patient-specific vaccine used to provoke an immune response in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. The ongoing phase II study, sponsored by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a cooperative group of the National Cancer Institute, looks to answer the question of whether prophage G-200 can facilitate long term overall survival.

There are a number of vaccines, Parsa points out, that are being used and tested in this space. This vaccine is unique because it is polyvalent, with multiple antigens targeting the immune response against cancer cells. In prophage G-200, the patient's tissue makes the vaccine and does not require the isolation, pulsing, and subsequent administration of dendritic cells. Prophage G-200 is the best vaccine in this space because it has all the components to facilitate long-term immunity, Parsa believes.

Prophage G-200 is an autologous, patient-specific vaccine used to provoke an immune response in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme

The phase II study, sponsored by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, looks to answer the question of whether prophage G-200 can facilitate long term overall survival

There are a number of vaccines being used and tested in this space

Prophage G-200 is a unique vaccine because it is polyvalent: It has multiple antigens that it uses to target the immune response against cancer cells

View all coverage from the 2013 ASCO Meeting

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, describes the development and trial involving prophage G-200, a vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD | Authors

Articles

Background of the Prophage G-200 Vaccine for Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme

Administering the G-200 Vaccine

The Development of Prophage G-200 Vaccine for Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme