Dendritic cells (DC) are a special kind of white blood cell with distinctive morphology (Figure 2). These cells make up about 1/10th of 1% of white blood cells in a healthy individual. DC possess unique characteristics that allow them to uptake, process and display antigens on their cell surface. They also display many other important molecules important to proper T cell activation. Upon ingestion of antigen, DC have the capability to migrate to the regional lymph nodes, where a large population of T cells resides, and where the DC T-cell interaction can result in activation of T cells. DC are the only cell type capable of initiating a naïve T cell response. These unique characteristics have attracted scientists to study the potential of DC as a component of cancer vaccines. Most of the vaccines presently under investigation employ the patient’s own (autologous) DC grown outside the body and a single specific cancer antigen loaded into the dendritic cells. To date, over 100 clinical trials have been reported employing DC-based cancer vaccination strategies. These studies have demonstrated the safety of DC-based cancer vaccination. Most adverse reactions were mild and transient. Positive clinical outcomes reported in these early studies have stirred considerable interest in further development of DC-based cancer vaccines. |
