Combined approach to treatment of cancer with hCG vaccines
AssigneeAVI BioPharma, Inc.
InventorPatrick L. Iversen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to an improved method for immunotherapy of cancer by administering to a subject a human anti-hCG monoclonal antibody and/or an hCG immunogenic peptide vaccine, followed by monitoring the patient's immune response to hCG-CTP16, hCG-CTP21 and hCG-CTP37, respectively, and adjusting the vaccination regimen according to the detectable immune response to the hCG immunogenic peptides. The invention further relates to devices, methods and kits for immunoassay of hCG immunogenic peptides.
Claims25
A human monoclonal antibody specifically immunoreactive with a 21 mer N-terminal fragment of hCG-CTP37 (hCG-CTP21, SEQ ID NO:4).
A method for classifying the immune response to hCG, comprising
- (a) measuring the levels of first, second and total patient hCG antibodies against hCG-CTP16 (SEQ ID NO:6), hCG-CTP21 (SEQ ID NO:4), and hCG-CTP37 (SEQ ID NO:2), respectively, and
- (b) classifying the patient into one of the following four groups, depending on the measured levels of first and second antibodies:
- (i) patients in which neither first nor second antibodies, nor total anti-hCG-CTP37 antibodies are detectable (non-antibody responders);
- (ii) patients in which in which total anti-hCG-CTP37 antibodies are detectable while neither first nor second antibodies are detectable (poor antibody responders);
- (iii) patients having a detectable level of first antibodies, but undetectable levels of second antibodies (CTP16 only antibody responders);
- and
- (iv) patients having detectable levels of both first and second antibodies (CTP16 and CTP21 antibody responders).
A diagnostic device for monitoring the immune response to hCG, comprising:
- (a) a 16 mer C-terminal fragment of hCG-CTP37 (hCG-CTP16, SEQ ID NO:6);
- (b) a 21 mer N-terminal fragment of hCG-CTP37 (hCG-CTP21, SEQ ID NO:4);
- (c) the hCG-CTP37 peptide (SEQ ID NO:2);
- and
- (d) reagent means for labeling human antibodies that are immunoreactive with fragments (a), (b) and (c) with a detectable reporter.
A method of monitoring the immune response to hCG, comprising:
- (a) reacting a body-fluid sample with a solid-phase reagent having bound thereto, a 16 mer C-terminal fragment (hCG-CTP16, SEQ ID NO:6), a 21 mer N-terminal fragment of hCG-CTP37 (hCG-CTP21, SEQ ID NO:4), and hCG-CTP37 (SEQ ID NO:2), in the presence of reporter labeled antibodies specifically immunoreactive with the three peptides;
- and
- (b) determining the level of the three body-fluid antibodies from the amount of reporter-labeled antibodies bound to the solid support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.