Cytokine gene transfection for autologous and allogeneic melanoma vaccines.

Abstract

Whole tumour cells are a logical basis for generating immunity against the cancers they comprise or represent’. Allogeneic (MHC-disparate) tumour cells offer a useful avenue as vaccines because tumours of the same histological type often share antigens, and immune priming will occur via host antigen-presenting cells. A number of human trials have been initiated using cytokine-transfected whole tumour cells of autologous or allogeneic origin as vaccines. Although precedent exists for the efficacy of autologoustransfected vaccines in animal models, little preclinical evidence confirms that these findings will extrapolate to allogeneic-transfected vaccines2.