title: Cancer vaccines.
abstract: Cancer vaccines are designed to promote tumor specific immune responses, particularly cytotoxic CD8 positive T cells that are specific to tumor antigens. The earliest vaccines, which were developed in 1994-95, tested non-mutated, shared tumor associated antigens that had been shown to be immunogenic and capable of inducing clinical responses in a minority of people with late stage cancer. Technological developments in the past few years have enabled the investigation of vaccines that target mutated antigens that are patient specific. Several platforms for cancer vaccination are being tested, including peptides, proteins, antigen presenting cells, tumor cells, and viral vectors. Standard of care treatments, such as surgery and ablation, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, can also induce antitumor immunity, thereby having cancer vaccine effects. The monitoring of patients' immune responses at baseline and after standard of care treatment is shedding light on immune biomarkers. Combination therapies are being tested in clinical trials and are likely to be the best approach to improving patient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine, Surgery and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA butterfieldl@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Butterfield
mesh_terms: D055011:Ablation Techniques; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D019496:Cancer Vaccines