Whole tumor antigen vaccines

Abstract

Although cancer vaccines with defined antigens are commonly used, the use of whole tumor cell preparations in tumor immunotherapy is a very promising approach and can obviate some important limitations in vaccine development. Whole tumor cells are a good source of TAAs and can induce simultaneous CTLs and CD4+ T helper cell activation. We review current approaches to prepare whole tumor cell vaccines, including traditional methods of freeze-thaw lysates, tumor cells treated with ultraviolet irradiation, and RNA electroporation, along with more recent methods to increase tumor cell immunogenicity with HOCl oxidation or infection with replication-incompetent herpes simplex virus.

Cell-free Tumor Microparticle Vaccines Stimulate Dendritic Cells via cGAS/STING Signaling

“…Furthermore, the immunogenicity of whole tumor-cell vaccines can be augmented by modifying tumor cells with expression of GM-CSF or other immunostimulatory genes to generate improved antitumor T-cell immunity. To date, autologous and allogeneic whole tumor-cell-based vaccines have been intensely studied in clinical trials in patients with melanoma, renal cell and hepatocellular carcinomas, lung, prostate, breast, colorectal, cervical, pancreatic, or ovarian cancer (1)(2)(3). However, there is evidence that tumor cell-derived cytokines (e.g., VEGF, IL10, and TGFb) and biologic factors (e.g., galectin-1, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, lipid droplets) suppress dendritic cell (DC) maturation and T-cell activation, thus limiting the efficacy and efficiency of whole cell-based vaccination (4,5).…”

Tumor cell-derived microparticles: a new form of cancer vaccine

“…Currently, several irradiated live whole tumor cell vaccines are entering phase I and II clinical trials. 4 However, whole tumor cell vaccines seem to lack appropriate innate signals, even if the exogenous GM-CSF gene is incorporated. T-MPs, derivatives of whole tumor cells, cover the similar tumor antigen repertoires, but they are different from whole tumor cells owing to their unique capability of triggering innate activation.…”

Long-term Complete Remission Following Radiosurgery and Immunotherapy in a Melanoma Patient with Brain Metastasis: Immunologic Correlates

“…The clinical efficacy of our treatment approach may be due to several factors. The use of autologous whole tumor cell lysate as the source of antigens to load DC generates a broad immune response covering all relevant antigens of the individual's disease (16). In this regard, the antigenic material obtained from the abdominal metastases in December 2003 was highly effective in stimulating T-cell responses in vivo (Fig.…”