Studies using the anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody 105AD7 in patients with primary and advanced colorectal cancer.

The mortality from colorectal cancer has not changed appreciably in the last 30 years and new treatment avenues, such as immunotherapy, are being explored. 105AD7 is a form of active specific immunotherapy that aims to stimulate specific T-cells to target tumour specific antigens on colorectal cancer cells. Results indicate that the cancer vaccine 105AD7 is non-toxic and is capable of stimulating T-cells to target tumour specific antigens, become activated, and kill tumour cells by apoptosis. These immune responses have no effect on survival on a cohort of immunosuppressed patients with advanced disease, but results from a case-control study in patients with minimal residual disease suggest they may confer a slight survival advantage on patients receiving 105AD7.