Current State and Perspectives of Dendritic Cell Vaccination in Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

Recent progress in the approach towards immunotherapy of cancer consists in molecular definition of tumor antigens, new tools for phenotypical and functional characterization of tumor-specific effector cells and clinical use of novel adjuvants for optimal stimulation of a cancer-specific immune response such as dendritic cells. In spite of these advances and immunological as well as clinical responses in selected patients, mechanisms involved in dendritic-cell-based cancer immunotherapy are still poorly understood. Therefore, a standardized study design and small pilot trials are needed to explore open scientific questions in future clinical trials. This review focuses on the different parameters of dendritic cell biology relevant to cancer immunotherapy and on innovative approaches to hopefully enhance the efficacy of dendritic cell vaccination.

Dendritic cell-directed lentivector vaccine induces antigen-specific immune responses against murine melanoma

“…Although substantial progress has been made on many aspects of DC-based vaccine methods, many challenges still remain. 5,[7][8][9] In vivo targeting of vaccines to DCs is highly desirable and there is growing interest in developing delivery systems with cell-specific capabilities to improve the safety and efficiency of DC-based vaccination. 10,11 Among the many delivery strategies, recombinant viral vectors have been proven to be effective for the delivery of antigen-encoded genes to DCs for direct immunization.…”

Dendritic Cells in Cardiovascular Diseases

“…92 This success has inspired several groups to explore the potential of DC-based vaccination for atherosclerosis. Studies in animal models so far are at least encouraging and support the notion that DC-based vaccination and immunization hold promise for therapeutic immunomodulation of atherosclerosis.…”

T351 protein, a novel tumor associated antigen and potential target for immunotherapy

“…The antigen presenting cells (APCs) in the PBMCs were necessary factor to the activation and proliferation of the specific T-cells during the culture. 30,31 The concentration of IL-2 used in the stimulation procedure was low to minimize a possible LAK cell activity. [32][33][34] The killing activity was presented as the test groups comparing to the control groups.…”