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A personalized neoantigen dendritic cell vaccine, LK101, combined with the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab, showed early antitumor activity in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In a phase 1b/2a study, 19% of evaluable patients achieved a partial response, and the disease control rate hit an impressive 95.2%. A randomized phase 2 trial is now being planned to build on these findings.
A personalized cancer vaccine is showing early promise in the fight against advanced lung cancer. LK101, a neoantigen dendritic cell vaccine custom-built for each patient using up to 30 tumor-specific mutations, was combined with the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab as first-line maintenance therapy in a phase 1b/2a study. The results, presented at the 2026 ESMO Congress, suggest the combo can stimulate meaningful immune responses alongside solid disease control.
The vaccine is manufactured individually: a patient's own dendritic cells are loaded with mRNA encoding their tumor's unique neoantigens, then injected back to train the immune system to attack the cancer — working in tandem with PD-1 blockade. Immune activation markers backed up the clinical signals, with ELISpot responses rising a median of 30-fold after dosing.
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Why it matters: Personalized cancer vaccines have long been a tantalizing concept, and this early data suggests LK101 could meaningfully enhance existing immunotherapy regimens in NSCLC — a disease where durable responses remain elusive for many patients. A randomized phase 2 trial is now being initiated to rigorously test this approach.
