Jeff:
Chapman is trying to imply that he/she knows the nature and number of "antigens" (self, or associated with malignancy) that can be useful to elicit a response against breast using this system. He/she doesn't.
And neither do I.
Your question, however, is a good one. Anecdote says that there have been strong tumor-specific responses in the melanoma system. However, in a variety of clinical and animal studies, cancers grow back lacking the antigen used to elicit an immune response. This is Chapman's logic, and it's the reason that GZMO and Rosenberg have now switched to a cocktail of antigens going forward. It's also one of reasons that Kufe, Avigan et al. having chosen a whole cell vaccine.
Really disgusting that, for the sake of money, investors will come to SI and make dogmatic statements about best efforts to find a "cancer cure".
No real meat here but here's a review by David Avigan......
Blood Rev 1999 Mar;13(1):51-64
Dendritic cells: development, function and potential use for cancer
immunotherapy.
Avigan D
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
Dendritic cells (DC) are potent antigen presenting cells that are essential for the initiation of primary immune responses. They
richly express MHC, costimulatory and adhesion molecules necessary for the stimulation of naive T cell populations. Dendritic
cells are located at sites of antigen capture where they demonstrate phagocytic capacity and subsequently migrate to lymphatic
areas for antigen presentation. Their phenotypic and functional characteristics are intimately linked to their stage of maturation.
The hematopoietic development of dendritic cells is distinct and may follow several precursor pathways some closely linked to
monocytes. Generation of large numbers of cells for potential clinical use has recently been accomplished through the in vitro
culturing of progenitors with cytokines. The use of dendritic cell vaccines for cancer immunotherapy has emerged as an exciting
new focus of investigation. Various strategies have been adopted to introduce tumor antigens into dendritic cells so that they
may be more effectively presented to T cells in the context of costimulation. Animal models demonstrate that dendritic cell
tumor vaccines reverse T-cell anergy and result in subsequent tumor rejection. Incorporating the expanding knowledge of
dendritic cell biology into vaccine design is essential for the generation of effective immunotherapy for cancer patients. |
