Prophylactic effect of peptide vaccination against hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis C virus

Komatsu,Nobukazu; Yutani,Shigeru; Yamada,Akira; Shichijo,Shigeki; Yoshida,Kazumi; Itou,Minoru; Kuromatsu,Ryoko; Ide,Tatsuya; Tanaka,Masatoshi; Sata,Michio; Itoh,Kyogo

doi:10.3892/etm_00000097

Prophylactic effect of peptide vaccination against hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis C virus

Authors:
- Nobukazu Komatsu
- Shigeru Yutani
- Akira Yamada
- Shigeki Shichijo
- Kazumi Yoshida
- Minoru Itou
- Ryoko Kuromatsu
- Tatsuya Ide
- Masatoshi Tanaka
- Michio Sata
- Kyogo Itoh
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Affiliations: Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume University, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan. kom@med.kurume-u.ac.jp
Published online on: July 1, 2010 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm_00000097
Pages: 619-626

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prophylactic effects of peptide vaccination against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Two different Phase I clinical trials of HCV-derived peptides for 40 HCV-positive patients with chronic hepatitis (CH) and liver cirrhosis (LC) were conducted from November 2003 to November 2008. Among the patients, 39 (33 CH and 6 LC) received prolonged peptide vaccination with a median vaccination of 26 rounds (range 6-89). Median vaccination and observation periods were 16 months (range 2-61) and 47 months (range 10-69), respectively. Three CH and all 6 LC patients had space-occupying lesions (SOLs) or a history of HCC, respectively. HCC became detectable during the vaccination period in 2 of the 3 CH patients with SOLs prior to vaccination. By contrast, HCC was undetectable throughout the vaccination period in the remaining 36 patients without SOLs. However, HCC became detectable in 4 of these 36 patients, i.e., 2 CH patients at 46 and 29 months after the end of the vaccination period, and 2 LC patients at 49 and 18 months after the end of vaccination. The development of HCC was associated with a reduction in boosted IgG responses to the vaccinated peptides. These results may provide new information on peptide vaccination for HCV-positive CH or LC patients lacking SOLs. Further studies are recommended to confirm the prophylactic effects of peptide vaccination against HCC associated with HCV.

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