Fusions of breast cancer and dendritic cells as a novel cancer vaccine.

The use of dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccines has emerged as a promising area of investigation in the field of tumor immunotherapy. DCs are potent antigen-presenting cells that are essential for the initiation of primary immune responses. DCs that have been manipulated to express tumor antigens are capable of stimulating tumor-specific immunity. The fusion of tumor cells with DCs results in the presentation of a broad spectrum of tumor antigens in the context of the immune-stimulating machinery of the DC. Animal models have demonstrated that vaccination with DC/tumor fusions is protective from a lethal challenge with tumor cells and results in regression of established disease. Preclinical human studies in breast cancer have shown that fusion cells stimulate cellular immune responses capable of lysing autologous tumor cells. Based on these findings, a phase I clinical trial has been conducted in patients with metastatic breast cancer to examine the toxicity profile and immunologic impact associated with vaccination with DC/tumor fusions.