How the ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy Works
The ELIAS cancer immunotherapy (ECI®) platform offers a completely new approach to cancer treatment. It is built upon 50+ years of intensive scientific and medical research into the interactions between cancer and the immune response. ECI utilizes a combination of cancer vaccination pretreatment and activated “killer” T cell immunotherapy.
Two-step Treatment. Explained.
Cancer treatment with ECI® involves the following sequential and dependent steps:
Step One: Personalized vaccines prime the immune system to recognize the dog’s unique cancer.
The primary tumor is surgically removed from the canine patient. This cancer tissue is used to produce a personalized cancer vaccine, which primes the dog’s immune system to recognize the cancer.
Step Two: T cell activation and reinfusion launches the immune response.
The primed immune cells are collected by apheresis, then activated and expanded into an army of killer T cells. The T cells are reinfused into the dog where they attack cancer cells in the body. Low-dose IL-2 injections further support the immune response.
W H A T T O E X P E C T
Cancer-Killing Capabilities. Confirmed.
The mechanism of action for ECI® was confirmed in an in vitro study, which demonstrated this personalized adoptive cell therapy initiated a significant immune response against cancer cells (as reported at ACVIM in June 2022).
Therapeutic Potential. Amplified.
ECI® is a promising oncology treatment modality for canine cancer because:
- It delivers the potential for tumor-specific cytotoxicity.
- Clinical outcomes of ELIAS’ osteosarcoma trial, as reported at ACVIM in June 2019, showed adverse events were mostly mild to moderate and were typically transient in nature.
- This personalized approach could be useful for treating numerous types of cancer and may limit or avoid the use of chemotherapy and radiation.