Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2004 Apr;53(4):275-306.
doi: 10.1007/s00262-003-0432-5. Epub 2003 Nov 26.

Clinical applications of dendritic cell vaccination in the treatment of cancer

Lee D Cranmer  1 , Katrina T Trevor, Evan M Hersh
Affiliations
Review

Clinical applications of dendritic cell vaccination in the treatment of cancer

Lee D Cranmer et al. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

Dendritic cell (DC) immunotherapy has shown significant promise in animal studies as a potential treatment for cancer. Its application in the clinic depends on the results of human trials. Here, we review the published clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy using exogenously antigen-exposed DCs. We begin with a short review of general properties and considerations in the design of such vaccines. We then review trials by disease type. Despite great efforts on the part of individual investigative groups, most trials to date have not yielded data from which firm conclusions can be drawn. The reasons for this include nonstandard DC preparation and vaccination protocols, use of different antigen preparations, variable means of immune assessment, and nonrigorous criteria for defining clinical response. While extensive animal studies have been conducted using DCs, optimal parameters in humans remain to be established. Unanswered questions include optimal cell dose, use of mature versus immature DCs for vaccination, optimal antigen preparation, optimal route, and optimal means of assessing immune response. It is critical that these questions be answered, as DC therapy is labor- and resource-intensive. Cooperation is needed on the part of the many investigators in the field to address these issues. If such cooperation is not forthcoming, the critical studies that will be required to make DC therapy a clinically and commercially viable enterprise will not take place, and this therapy, so promising in preclinical studies, will not be able to compete with the many other new approaches to cancer therapy presently in development. Trials published in print through June 2003 are included. We exclude single case reports, except where relevant, and trials with so many variables as to prevent interpretation about DC therapy effects.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Andersen Int J Cancer. 2001;94:820. doi: 10.1002/ijc.1536. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andreesen Cancer Res. 1990;50:7450. - PubMed
    1. Azuma Int J Urol. 2002;9:340. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-2042.2002.00477.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Banchereau Nature. 1998;392:245. - PubMed
    1. Banchereau Cancer Res. 2001;61:6451. - PubMed

Substances