Whole-cell vaccines: A failure or a success waiting to happen?
Whole-cell vaccination has demonstrated efficacy in small phase I and II clinical trials. However, in the past 3 years several high-profile phase III trials have failed to meet the predicted endpoints, including trials of the GVAX technologies (BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc [formerly Cell Genesys Inc]) conducted by Cell Genesys. This review discusses the potential reasons for the failure of selected phase III trials and summarizes the current status of whole-cell vaccination, with specific reference to trials conducted in the past 2 years. Recently, new paradigms have emerged in the field of cancer vaccine research. In particular, the potential use of combination therapies that incorporate immune modulators and standard radio- and chemotherapy to synergize with whole-cell vaccines is discussed. In addition, key measures for improvements within the field that may be required for the generation of effective antitumor immunity are identified.
Department of Oncology, St George's University of London, UK.
John
J
Copier
Angus
A
Dalgleish
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D019496:Cancer Vaccines