Early data show vaccine has potential to prevent Lynch-related cancers | ASCO 2026
In an interview before the annual ASCO meeting, Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, talks about NOUS-209, an immunotherapy being studied to prevent cancer in those with Lynch syndrome mutations.
A vaccine in early trials has the potential to not only prevent cancer in patients with Lynch syndrome mutations but also open the door to other vaccines for other cancers, said Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez, M.D., Ph.D., during an interview before the start of the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, taking place May 29 to June 2 in Chicago. Vilar-Sanchez is chair ad interim in the department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Vilar-Sanchez and his colleagues published research in
Data from this phase 1 investigator-initiated clinical trial show that NOUS-209 can induce T cells against neoantigens that are present in tumors and precancer cells. Developed by Nouscom, NOUS-209 is an off-the-shelf, neoantigen-directed cancer vaccine. It uses Nouscom’s viral vector platform to deliver 209 frameshift peptide neoantigens found in tumors and precancer lesions with microsatellite instability.
After vaccination, all of the 37 evaluable patients had an observable neoantigen immune response. Both CD8-positive and CD4-positive T cells were induced. The vaccine was found to be safe with no serious adverse events. Injection-site reactions and fatigue were the most common adverse events. The trial was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and through the ICAN-PREVENT consortium.
“There is obviously a long way to go in the development pathway like with any intervention, but the preliminary data that we have is very, very promising,” Vilar-Sanchez said. “It’s an early signal that we have, and hopefully it will open the door to other vaccines and other efforts in this regard.”
A phase 2 trial is ongoing and a phase 3 trial is planned with NOUS-209 in healthy people with Lynch syndrome mutations.
In this video, Vilar-Sanchez discusses NOUS-209 and the results of the trial.
