Search

The rationale for fusing dendritic cells (DCs) with whole tumor cells to generate anticancer vaccines resides in the fact that the former operate as potent antigen-presenting cells, whereas the latter express a constellation of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). although the administration of DC/malignant cell fusions to cancer patients is safe and this immunotherapeutic intervention triggers efficient tumor-specific T-cell responses in vitro, a limited number of objective clinical responses to DC/cancer cell fusions has been reported thus far. This review discusses novel approaches to improve the immunogenicity of DC/malignant cell fusions as anticancer vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The induction of antitumor immune responses by dendritic cell (DC)/tumor cell fusions can be modulated by their activation status. Our recent work reveals that the combination of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 agonists promotes the immunogenicity of DC/tumor cell fusions, allowing them to overcome the immunosuppressive efects of transforming growth factor β1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]