Abstract 6757: The anti-tumor efficacy of ﻿Th1-specific TROP2 vaccine (AST-07X) in a triple-negative breast cancer murine model
Authors: Kang Jinho , Park Hyo-Hyun , Choi Jin Kyeong , Jang Seong-Yong , Kim Min-Ah , Park Myeong-Kyu , Kim Ashley Youngmin , Joung Eunkyo , Jung Hun 
Published: March 2024

Background: The trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) is associated with enhanced tumor proliferation and poor prognosis in breast cancer. TROP2 overexpresses on various epithelial cancer cell surfaces, and is commonly found in prostate, colon, pancreas, lung, and breast cancer. Therefore, anticancer strategy targeting TROP2 may be a potential treatment option for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Sacituzumab govitecan, a Trop-2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC), has shown significant benefits associated with progression-free and overall survival compared to standard chemotherapy for treating metastatic TNBC; however, its toxic effects were more frequent than that of chemotherapy (NCT02574455). In this study, we discovered TROP2 target peptides with T-helper 1 (Th1) polarization and anticancer efficacy. We then evaluated the anti-tumor efficacy of these epitopes and possibility of co-administration with ADC in a TNBC murine model.

Materials and Methods: Th1 peptides were identified using the Th-Vac® platform and the predictive binding affinity ranking that indicates potential immunogenicity points of interest for HLA class II. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) Th1-specific polarization-induced activity and in vivo immunogenicity (Module 2b) were evaluated using flow cytometry and ELISpot analysis. The anti-tumor efficacy of the selected Th1 peptide was evaluated against MDA-MB-23 inoculated athymic Balb/c mice. Each peptide was administered intradermally once weekly for a total of four times at a concentration of 100 μg/head. Sacituzumab govitecan (0.81 mg/kg) was administered intravenously once weekly, for a total of two times.

Results: Ten peptides with high affinity for HLA class II were selected, and three epitopes that induce differentiation of T cells secreting TROP2-specific IFN-γ were subsequently selected. These epitopes (p1, p3 and p6) showed tumor growth inhibition efficacy of 52.4%, 38.5%, and 57.2%, respectively, compared to the control (vehicle) group in the TNBC tumor-bearing mice. The cocktail vaccine (AST-07X), which combined these epitopes, was the most dominant at 65.4%. The anti-tumor efficacy of the combination group of the cocktail vaccine and ADC was 77.4% compared with the control group, showing a potent synergistic effect compared to the 46.1% anti-tumor efficacy of the ADC-mono group.

Conclusion: AST-07X that induce TROP2-specific Th1 anticancer immune responses, showed sufficient anti-tumor efficacy; these effects were evident under immunodeficient conditions, such as those of TNBC tumor-bearing athymic mice. Synergy effects were also induced via combined ADC administration. We are currently conducting further research on humanized mice to address the limitations of the immunodeficient murine model.

Citation Format: Jinho Kang, Hyo-Hyun Park, Jin Kyeong Choi, Seong-Yong Jang, Min-Ah Kim, Myeong-Kyu Park, Ashley Youngmin Kim, Eunkyo Joung, Hun Jung. The anti-tumor efficacy of ﻿Th1-specific TROP2 vaccine (AST-07X) in a triple-negative breast cancer murine model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 6757.