title: Phase I/II study of immunotherapy using tumor antigen-pulsed dendritic             cells in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) are increasingly used as adjuvants for vaccination             strategies; however, there has been very little development in DC vaccines for             patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we assessed the safety,             feasibility and efficacy of a multiple tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-pulsed DC             vaccine in 5 patients with advanced HCC. DCs were generated by culturing blood             monocytes in the presence of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor             and interleukin-4 for 5 days. The DC vaccine was prepared by pulsing DCs with             cytoplasmic transduction peptide-attached α-fetoprotein, glypican-3 and MAGE-1             recombinant fusion proteins and cultivating them in the presence of maturation             cocktail. DCs were injected subcutaneously near the inguinal lymph nodes, followed             by topical application of toll-like receptor-7 agonist around the injection site.             We showed that our DC vaccine was safe and well-tolerated over 6 vaccinations             in 5 patients. All 5 patients showed T cell responses against TAAs. Clinical benefit             was observed in one of the 5 patients. In conclusion, the feasibility, safety             and immune activity of DCs pulsed with TAAs were confirmed in HCC patients. However,             clinical response was detected only in one patient. Future trials may consider             applying this therapy in a less advanced stage to obtain better clinical responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabology, Ehime University                     Graduate School of Medicine, To-on, Ehime 791‑0925, Japan.
authors.forename: Fujimasa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirooka
authors.forename: Yoshiou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiasa
authors.forename: Yoon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Nam-Chul
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Woo-Bok
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Morikazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onji
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D016207:Cytokines