TRICOM vaccine(NCI)

Background:
* Flutamide is an approved drug for prostate cancer that blocks the effects of testosterone on prostate cancer cells and may slow the progression of the disease.
* The vaccine in this study consists of a priming vaccine called PROSTVAC (rilimogene galvacirepvec/rilimogene glafolivec) -V/TRICOM (triad of costimulatory molecules), made from vaccinia virus, and a boosting vaccine called PROSTVAC-F/TRICOM, made from fowlpox virus. DNA (Deoxyribonuceic acid) is inserted into the priming and boosting vaccine viruses to cause production of proteins that enhance immune activity and also to produce prostate specific antigen (PSA) a protein that is normally produced by the patients tumor cells.
* GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor), given along with the vaccine, is a chemical that boosts the immune system. It is used in this study to try to increase the usefulness of the vaccine by increasing the number of immune cells at the vaccination site.
Objectives:
-To determine if treatment with a prostate cancer vaccine plus flutamide is more effective than flutamide alone in delaying disease progression in patients with prostate cancer.
Eligibility:
* Patients 18 years of age and older with androgen-insensitive prostate cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate gland.
* Patients with a rising PSA (prostatic specific antigen) who have already been treated with anti-iandrogen therapy (either bicalutamide or nilutamide).
Design:
* There are two treatment groups in this study. Group A receives only flutamide; group B receive flutamide plus vaccine.
* Patients in both groups receive flutamide by mouth three times a day.
* Patients in group B receive PROSTVAC-V/TRICOM on day 1 and PROSTVAC-F/TRICOM on day 29 and again every 4 weeks. All vaccines are given as injections under the skin.
* Patients have blood tests for PSA levels every month and scans every 3 months until the disease worsens.
* After 3 months of therapy, patients receiving in group A (flutamide alone) may cross over to receive vaccine if they develop a rising PSA and scans show no sign of disease spread. Patients in group B (flutamide plus vaccine) stop flutamide and may continue vaccine therapy. At this point patients may continue to receive treatment until the disease progresses or PSA levels rise....

Background:
* No treatment is known to improve survival for prostate cancer patients who have not been helped by previous treatments with hormones and chemotherapy.
* An experimental vaccine called prostate specific antigen (PSA)/TRICOM contains genes for a protein produced by prostate cancer cells called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The vaccine can trigger the immune system to make cells that may be able to recognize and attack the cancer cells that make PSA.
* Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is an approved drug that is usually given to increase a patient's white blood cell count or to stimulate the immune system.
* 1Samarium-153-ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonate (53Sm-EDTMP) is a radioactive drug that has been approved for many years to treat advanced prostate cancer. It is given through a vein and can be targeted directly to tumors in the bone where it can relieve pain caused by bone lesions. Radiation also increases the level of certain proteins inside the tumor, making it easier for the immune system to find and kill the tumor cells.
* When laboratory mice were given just vaccine, just radiation, or a combination of both, the combination was most effective in treating tumors.
Objectives:
-To determine if combined treatment with PSA/TRICOM vaccine and 153Sm-EDTMP radiation can delay progression of prostate cancer better than radiation alone.
Eligibility:
-Patients who have advanced prostate cancer that has worsened despite treatments with hormones, have two or more bone lesions related to their prostate cancer, and have had prior treatment with docetaxel chemotherapy.
Design:
* Patients are randomly assigned to receive radiation alone (Arm A) or radiation with vaccine and sargramostim (Arm B).
* Arm A receives 153Sm-EDTMP radiation starting on study day 8 and repeated every 12 weeks.
* Arm B receives a priming vaccine on study day 1 and radiation on day 8. Radiation therapy is repeated every 12 weeks. Boosting vaccines are given on days 15 and 29 and then monthly. GM-CSF is given with each vaccination (on the day of the vaccination and for the next 3 days) to enhance the immune response. Vaccinations and GM-CSF are given as injections under the skin, usually in the thigh. Radiation therapy is given through a vein.
* Patients are monitored regularly with physical examinations, blood and urine tests, and scans to evaluate safety and treatment response.
* Patients who are human leukocyte antigen serotype within HLA-A A serotype group (HLA-A2)-positive undergo apheresis, a procedure similar to donating blood, for obtaining immune cells called lymphocytes to measure the immune response to the vaccine.