The new vaccines: building viruses that elicit antitumor immunity.
Whereas cancer cells are poor immunogens, some viruses are capable of eliciting powerful and lifelong immunity. Recombinant viruses and plasmid DNA encoding tumor-associated antigens can elicit powerful and specific immune responses that can be enhanced by the use of cytokines and costimulatory molecules. These immune responses have destroyed growing tumor cells in experimental animal models. For the first time, immunotherapeutic strategies that employ recombinant viruses are being tested in clinical trials with cancer patients.
Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. restifo@helix.nih.gov
N P
NP
Restifo
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007167:Immunotherapy; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines