Blood cleansing as immunotherapy: testing a novel cancer vaccine strategy

Interviewer: Following a recent science report about a first-in-human trial to test a novel cancer vaccine approach that is derived from blood cleansing technology, we've invited Prof. Raymond Goodrich from Colorado State University, who is heading the project, to talk about the scientific rationale behind the method, the challenges ahead, and what success would look like in early clinical testing. Prof. Goodrich, thank you so much for joining us today. Prof. Goodrich: It's my pleasure to be here. Interviewer: So the Mirasol process was developed for blood disinfection decades ago. What were the key scientific observations that led you to consider repurposing this treatment as a cancer vaccine platform? Prof. Goodrich: Well, the primary observation was first and foremost the fact that we had to develop a technique that was very selective in its action. We were literally trying to kill the viruses, bacteria, parasites, things that might cause disease if they go from a donor to a recipient, while at the same time preserving the integrity of proteins and cellular components that were present. We had to do the chemistry in a way that selectively did the inactivation but left all of the other therapeutic components relatively unscathed by the process, and that is quite a challenge. But we were able to achieve that. There are some effects that occur due to the process using riboflavin and UV light to carry out the inactivation of nucleic acid. Some side effects that occur, but for the most part, the proteins, the antigens, the cellular machinery that's associated with the blood or plasma protein constituents