Dendritic cell vaccination in acute myeloid leukemia.
The prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains dismal, with a 5-year overall survival rate of only 5.2% for the continuously growing subgroup of AML patients older than 65 years. These patients are generally not considered eligible for intensive chemotherapy and/or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation because of high treatment-related morbidity and mortality, emphasizing the need for novel, less toxic, treatment alternatives. It is within this context that immunotherapy has gained attention in recent years. In this review, we focus on the use of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines for immunotherapy of AML. DC are central orchestrators of the immune system, bridging innate and adaptive immunity and critical to the induction of anti-leukemic immunity. We discuss the rationale and basic principles of DC-based therapy for AML and review the clinical experience that has been obtained so far with this form of immunotherapy for patients with AML.
University of Antwerp, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Sébastien
S
Anguille
Yannick
Y
Willemen
Eva
E
Lion
Evelien L
EL
Smits
Zwi N
ZN
Berneman
D000818:Animals; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical; D014611:Vaccination
D019496:Cancer Vaccines