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Immunological reviews
Jan, 2011;239 (1): 27-44.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines: are we there yet?

Christopher A Klebanoff, Nicolas Acquavella, Zhiya Yu, Nicholas P Restifo
Author Information
  1. Christopher A Klebanoff: Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1502, USA.
PMID: 21198663 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2010.00979.x

Abstract

Enthusiasm for therapeutic cancer vaccines has been rejuvenated with the recent completion of several large, randomized phase III clinical trials that in some cases have reported an improvement in progression free or overall survival. However, an honest appraisal of their efficacy reveals modest clinical benefit and a frequent requirement for patients with relatively indolent cancers and minimal or no measurable disease. Experience with adoptive cell transfer-based immunotherapies unequivocally establishes that T cells can mediate durable complete responses, even in the setting of advanced metastatic disease. Further, these findings reveal that the successful vaccines of the future must confront: (i) a corrupted tumor microenvironment containing regulatory T cells and aberrantly matured myeloid cells, (ii) a tumor-specific T-cell repertoire that is prone to immunologic exhaustion and senescence, and (iii) highly mutable tumor targets capable of antigen loss and immune evasion. Future progress may come from innovations in the development of selective preparative regimens that eliminate or neutralize suppressive cellular populations, more effective immunologic adjuvants, and further refinement of agents capable of antagonizing immune check-point blockade pathways.

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Grants

  1. Z99 CA999999/Intramural NIH HHS
  2. ZIA BC010763-05/Intramural NIH HHS
  3. ZIA BC011037-03/Intramural NIH HHS

MeSH Term

Adjuvants, Immunologic
Adoptive Transfer
Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte
Antigens, Neoplasm
Cancer Vaccines
Humans
Immunotherapy
Neoplasms
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
T-Lymphocyte Subsets
Toll-Like Receptors
Treatment Outcome

Chemicals

Adjuvants, Immunologic
Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte
Antigens, Neoplasm
Cancer Vaccines
Toll-Like Receptors
Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural Review
Article has an altmetric score of 7

Word Cloud

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