New KRAS-Targeting Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence

A new clinical trial is generating headlines — and hope — for people facing pancreatic cancer. In a Phase 1 study published in Nature Medicine, researchers tested an “off-the-shelf” cancer vaccine designed to train the immune system to attack tumors driven by KRAS gene mutations, which are present in up to 90% of pancreatic cancers.

Why this matters
Pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of just 13%, and as many as 80% of cases recur after treatment. Once the disease returns, it is often more difficult to treat. Teaching the immune system to target cancer cells could be a powerful way to eliminate minimal residual disease (MRD) that lingers after surgery and chemotherapy and prevent recurrence.

About the trial
The vaccine, called ELI-002 2P, uses short chains of amino acids (“peptides”) to teach the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. To specifically target cancer cells, the vaccine includes mutant forms of the KRAS protein – a protein that is mutated in nearly all pancreatic cancers. Unlike some other cancer vaccines that are custom-made for each patient, this vaccine could be used for the majority of pancreatic cancers — making it faster and less costly to produce and more accessible.

In the study:

• 25 participants (20 with pancreatic cancer, 5 with colorectal cancer) received the vaccine after completing standard treatment.
• All had MRD detected by blood tests, even though scans showed no visible cancer.
• 85% of patients mounted an immune response to the vaccines, and many showed broader immune activation beyond the specific KRAS mutations included in the vaccine.
• Patients with the strongest immune responses had the best outcomes — living longer and staying recurrence-free for longer than typically seen in this patient population.

How this fits into the bigger picture
While the results are promising, this was a small, early-stage study and more research is needed. The findings are consistent with other vaccine approaches being investigated in pancreatic cancer — including work by Lustgarten-funded scientists Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee and Dr. Vinod Balachandran — showing that vaccine approaches are feasible and can induce robust immune responses that are linked to better survival.

Elicio, the company developing this vaccine, now has a version (ELI-002 7P) that targets the seven most common KRAS mutations. Elicio recently announced that they completed enrollment of a phase 2 trial using ELI-002 7P in 135 pancreatic cancer patients with MRD following surgery. Through our Lustgarten Clinical Accelerator Initiative, we are supporting a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center led by Dr. Kevin Soares and Dr. Eileen O’Reilly to test this next-generation vaccine before surgery. This study will provide invaluable insights into how these vaccines shape the immune response in pancreatic tumors and will contribute to a broader collaboration with the Break Through Cancer Demystifying Pancreatic Cancer Therapies team.

The bottom line
Vaccines are an exciting frontier in pancreatic cancer research. While more data from larger, controlled trials are essential, this new study adds momentum to a growing body of evidence suggesting that vaccines could play a key role in controlling disease, preventing recurrence — and saving lives.