Harnessing Naturally Occurring Tumor Immunity: A Clinical Vaccine Trial in Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Studies of patients with paraneoplastic neurologic disorders (PND) have revealed that apoptotic tumor serves as a potential potent trigger for the initiation of naturally occurring tumor immunity. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility, safety, and immunogenicity of an apoptotic tumor-autologous dendritic cell (DC) vaccine. (p = 0.002), decrease in prostate specific antigen (PSA) slope (p = 0.016), and a two-fold increase in PSA doubling time (p = 0.003) were identified when we compared data before and after vaccination.An apoptotic cancer cell vaccine modeled on naturally occurring tumor immune responses in PND patients provides a safe and immunogenic tumor vaccine. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00289341)