A New Shot at Beating Cancer
New melanoma clinic offers access to innovative cancer vaccine

In response to growing numbers of melanoma cases, the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center has established Central and Eastern Kentucky's first multidisciplinary outpatient melanoma clinic.

More than 850 cases of malignant melanoma, the most severe and deadly type of skin cancer, were diagnosed in Kentucky in 1996 – a 46 percent increase over the number reported in 1991. Nationally, more than 32,000 people per year are diagnosed with melanoma

The clinic will include specialists in dermatology, surgery, and hematology/oncology who will collaborate on each case. In addition, consultations can be arranged with the UK Chandler Medical Center plastic surgeons in cases where extensive tissue reconstruction is necessary, said Dr. Kenneth Foon, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center and chief of hematology/oncology at the UK College of Medicine.

Patients at the new clinic. will also have the opportunity to participate in a unique clinical trial of a melanoma "vaccine" developed by Foon and his colleague, Malaya Chatterjee, Ph.D.

This innovative treatment, called an "anti-idiotype vaccine," activates the body's own immune cells and is designed to prevent the disease from recurring, a common problem with many forms of cancer.

"One problem cancer patients face is that the body doesn't recognize cancer cells as foreign," explains Foon. "We've created an antibody that mimics a tumor antigen that will create an immune response against this antigen."

The vaccine, a simple injection, is safe and relatively non-toxic, says Foon, with swelling at the injection site being the only side effect reported by patients. Patients who have a melanoma greater than one millimeter in depth are eligible for the vaccine following surgical removal of the melanoma. Monthly injections continue indefinitely. About 70 patients have received the vaccine so far, nearly half of whom have been treated at the Markey Cancer Center.

"Every patient has demonstrated an active immune response," reports Foon. "It's working well."

Still, the vaccine's impact on survival of melanoma patients won't be known for years, says Foon. Preliminary vaccine testing began two years ago and continues in private practices and several cancer centers throughout the U.S., including Mt. Sinai, Miami, Florida; the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas; and the University of Louisville.

Kim Cumbie is a senior information specialist for the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center.

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