M. Marchand et al., Tumor regressions observed in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with an antigenic peptide encoded by gene MAGE-3 and presented by HLA-A1, INT J CANC, 80(2), 1999, pp. 219-230
Thirty-nine tumor-bearing patients with metastatic melanoma were treated wi
th 3 subcutaneous injections of the MAGE-3.A1 peptide at monthly intervals.
No significant toxicity was observed. Of the 25 patients who received the
complete treatment, 7 displayed significant tumor regressions. All but one
of these regressions involved cutaneous metastases. Three regressions were
complete and 2 of these led to a disease-free state, which persisted for mo
re than 2 years after the beginning of treatment. No evidence for a cytolyt
ic T lymphocyte (CTL) response was found in the blood of the 4 patients who
were analyzed, including 2 who displayed complete tumor regression. Our re
sults suggest that injection of the MAGE-3.A1 peptide induced tumor regress
ion in a significant number of the patients, even though no massive CTL res
ponse was produced. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.