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.
Copier
John
J
Department of Oncology, St George's University of London, UK.
Dalgleish
Angus
A
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