Dr. Einstein on Immune Therapy in Prostate Cancer

David J. Einstein, MD, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and attending physician of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, discusses research with immunotherapy in prostate cancer.

There is a lot of interest with immunotherapy in prostate cancer, specifically in patients with micrometastatic disease, says Einstein. There are several reasons why investigators believe micrometastatic disease may be particularly susceptible to this approach. Research is focused on testing vaccines and checkpoint inhibitors in the setting of biochemical recurrent premetastatic prostate cancer.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in conjunction with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is currently accruing to a trial with PROSTVAC, which is a prostate vaccine out of the National Cancer Institute. Several of Einstein’s patients are on that trial. So far, several patients have experienced prostate specific antigen (PSA) stabilization and occasional declines. Furthermore, checkpoint inhibitors are also being tested in this setting and are thought to be more efficacious in a less advanced setting, concludes Einstein.