Cancer vaccines: current directions and perspectives in prostate cancer.

Numerous research groups are investigating the use of cancer vaccines as a potential therapeutic modality for various tumor types. The efficacy of cancer vaccines has improved because of advances in the characterization of tumor-associated antigens, the development of improved vaccine delivery systems, and the combination of vaccines with cytokines and other immunostimulants to enhance immune responses. Although cancer vaccines are under investigation for the treatment of various different tumor types, several characteristics of prostate cancer make it an ideal target for immunotherapy. The relative indolence of prostrate cancer allows sufficient time to generate immune responses, which usually take weeks or months to mount. In addition, prostate cancer-associated antigens direct the immune response to prostate cancer cells, thus sparing normal tissue. This review focuses on promising new strategies for combining vaccines with other therapeutic approaches, as well as novel perspectives in the treatment of prostate cancer.