Overview of melanoma vaccines and promising approaches.
It is difficult to envision anything better than melanoma vaccines to exemplify the effectiveness of modern biotechnology in developing biologically rational therapeutics. Melanoma vaccines can reproducibly induce cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses better than any other anticancer therapy. Anticancer vaccines have been labeled by some as ineffective for the simple reason that they only rarely lead to cancer regression. This oxymoron stems from the naïve expectation that CTLs are all that is needed to reject cancer. Little is known about requirements for CTL localization and effector function within the tumor microenvironment. In the future, more attention should be given to events downstream of immunization (afferent arm of immune response) to identify combination therapies likely to facilitate localization and activation of CTL at the receiving end (efferent arm).
Immunogenetics Section, Department of Transfusion Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bldg 10, R-1C711, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Monica C
MC
Panelli
Ena
E
Wang
Vladia
V
Monsurrò
Ping
P
Jin
Katia
K
Zavaglia
Kina
K
Smith
Yvonne
Y
Ngalame
Francesco M
FM
Marincola
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D010641:Phenotype; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000378:metabolism
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019496:Cancer Vaccines