Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Mycobacterial immunotherapy for prostate cancer: where can we go from here?

The effects of mycobacteria in prostate cancer have not been fully elucidated. Results of early studies indicated that mycobacterial immunotherapy conferred a survival benefit in patients with advanced prostate cancer, and recent evidence supports the safety and efficacy of new mycobacterial agents in many malignancies; thus, modern, carefully designed, randomized controlled trials of mycobacterial immunotherapy for prostate cancer could be warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Boettcher, A. N. et al. Past, current, and future of immunotherapies for prostate cancer. Front. Oncol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00884 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Abida, W. et al. Analysis of the prevalence of microsatellite instability in prostate cancer and response to immune checkpoint blockade. JAMA Oncol. 5, 471–478 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bazzi, S. et al. Analysis of the immunomodulatory properties of two heat-killed mycobacterial preparations in a human whole blood model. Immunobiology 220, 1293–1304 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Patel, P. M. et al. An evaluation of a preparation of Mycobacterium vaccae (SRL172) as an immunotherapeutic agent in renal cancer. Eur. J. Cancer 44, 216–223 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stanford, J. L. et al. Successful immunotherapy with Mycobacterium vaccae in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung. Eur. J. Cancer 44, 224–227 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dalgleish, A. G. et al. Randomised, open-label, phase II study of gemcitabine with and without IMM-101 for advanced pancreatic cancer. Br. J. Cancer 115, 789–796 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Guinan, P. et al. Adjuvant immunotherapy with bacillus Calmette-Guérin in prostatic cancer. Urology 14, 561–565 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hrouda, D. et al. Immunotherapy of advanced prostate cancer: a phase I/II trial using Mycobacterium vaccae (SRL172). Br. J. Urol. 82, 568–573 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gray, A. et al. Prostate cancer immunotherapy yields superior long-term survival in TRAMP mice when administered at an early stage of carcinogenesis prior to the establishment of tumor-associated immunosuppression at later stages. Vaccine 27, G52–G59 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Moore, C. M. et al. The effect of dutasteride on magnetic resonance imaging defined prostate cancer: mapped — a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind clinical trial. J. Urol. 197, 1006–1013 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Institute for Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy (project code 517932, award number 164271) for support. V.S. is supported by a Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Research Training Fellowship (MR/S005897/1), a European Association for Cancer Research Travel Fellowship and a University College London Bogue Fellowship. C.M.M. receives funding from Movember, Prostate Cancer UK, the National Institute for Health Research, the European Association of Urology Research Foundation and the MRC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vasilis Stavrinides.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stavrinides, V., Dalgleish, A., Copier, J.P. et al. Mycobacterial immunotherapy for prostate cancer: where can we go from here?. Nat Rev Urol 17, 189–190 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-020-0283-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-020-0283-2

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing