樹状細胞のがん免疫療法への応用 : 急性骨髄性白血病に対する樹状細胞ワクチン療法の臨床試験(<特集>ドナーアフェレシスの現状と展開)

概要

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The past decade has witnessed great advances in immunology, especially in our understanding of innate immunity and its essential roles in the control of adaptive immunity, revealing the critical importance of dendritic cells (DCs) in the initiation and the regulation of immune responses. These advances have also substantially deepened our knowledge of immune responses to cancer, which has led to development of novel cancer immunotherapies by translating basic research findings into clinical applications. One of the most important findings in the field of innate immunity is that activation of the innate immune system by a pathogen-associated molecular pattern is critically required for subsequent activation of adaptive immune responses. DCs are the key mediator of innate immunity, linking innate and adaptive immune responses. Thus, ex vivo manipulation of DCs represents one approach to development of cancer immunotherapy. We conducted two clinical trials of DC-based immunotherapy for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia. In these trials, four of the seven patients mounted anti-leukemic immune responses by DC vaccination, and the inductions of the response were associated with longer periods of stable disease. DC-based immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia has the potential to improve the clinical outcome of these patients.
2012-10-31