[State of the art about new therapeutic vaccines in prostate cancer: dendritic cells, engineered tumor cells and recombinant virus]
ABSTRACT
Therapeutic vaccines for prostate cancer were initially reported as limited with low immunological responses and uncertain clinical benefit. Recently, new methods become available, such preparations of well-characterized autologous dendritic cells, and use of gene therapy tools to increase whole-tumor cells or host tissue immunogenicity. These are able to enhance and diversify therapeutic options. Indeed, several vaccinal approaches are being investigated, including optimized mature dendritic cells, allogeneic genetically modified tumor cells, or viral vectors. Due to the description of immunological and clinical responses, large phase III randomized trials are now conducted. After summarizing the mechanistic basis for these approaches, this review describes the experience with the most recent and promising clinical studies and introduces short-term perspectives that could lead to improvement in healthcare offer for prostate cancer patients.