HSPPC-96 vaccine in metastatic melanoma patients: from the state of the art to a possible future.
Heat-shock proteins are highly conserved, stress-induced proteins with chaperone function for trafficking and delivering peptides within the different compartments of the cell. Tumor-derived heat-shock protein-peptide complexes (HSPPCs) can be used for vaccination against malignancies. In particular, the HSPPC-96-based vaccine vitespen (formerly Oncophage) is the first autologous cancer vaccine made from individual patients' tumors that has shown encouraging results in clinical trials. In Phase I and II clinical trials, this vaccine has shown activity on different malignancies, such as gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic myelogenous leukemia. In Phase III clinical trials in melanoma and kidney cancer, it demonstrated an excellent safety profile with almost no toxicity. Heat-shock protein-based vaccines can be considered as a novel therapeutic approach with a promising role in cancer management.
Division of Melanoma and Muscle-Cutaneous Sarcomas, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. giulio.tosti@ieo.it
Giulio
G
Tosti
Alessandra
A
di Pietro
Pier Francesco
PF
Ferrucci
Alessandro
A
Testori
D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000556:secondary*
D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C484813:vitespin