Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-6-9
pubmed:abstractText
Current therapies against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not curative in the majority of patients. In the past, immunotherapy approaches aimed to non-specifically stimulate immune response were quite ineffective. New treatments based on stimulation of specific anti-tumor immune response are currently proposed and appear more promising. Tumor-specific antigens identified in HCC demonstrated immunogenicity both in preclinical and clinical trials. Effectiveness in animal studies raised interest in the clinical applicability of non-specific adoptive immunotherapy that prevented disease recurrence after tumor resection. Dendritic cell (DC)-based tumor vaccines achieved encouraging results, and cellular vaccines based on DCs have already entered clinical trials. Preventive and therapeutic DNA vaccination have been proposed, all based on tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), either modified or not, an example being alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The concomitant expression of co-stimulatory molecules and cytokines was used to increase tumor immunogenicity. Syngeneic or nude mice models indicated that immunotherapy for HCC could stimulate an anti-tumor T-cell response leading to clinical benefit devoid of significant toxicity. The use of DNA-based vaccination raises exciting possibilities in preventing HCC in high-risk individuals such as those with cirrhosis. Novel immunotherapy strategies may contribute in the future to prevention and treatment of HCC.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0394-6320
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
22
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
269-77
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Strategies for successful vaccination against hepatocellular carcinoma.
pubmed:publicationType
Editorial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't