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We reviewed the clinical results of a dendritic cell-based phase II clinical vaccine trial in stage IV melanoma and analyzed a patient subgroup treated with standard therapies after stopping vaccination. From 2003 to 2009, 24 metastatic melanoma patients were treated with mature dendritic cells pulsed with autologous tumor lysate and keyhole limpet hemocyanin and low-dose interleukin-2. Overall response (OR) to vaccination was 37.5% with a clinical benefit of 54.1%. All 14 responders showed delayed type hypersensitivity positivity. Median overall survival (OS) was 15 months (95% CI, 8-33). Eleven patients underwent other treatments (3 surgery, 2 biotherapy, 2 radiotherapy, 2 chemotherapy, and 4 biochemotherapy) after stopping vaccination. Of these, 2 patients had a complete response and 5 a partial response, with an OR of 63.6%.Median OS was 34 months (range 16-61). Our results suggest that therapeutic DC vaccination could favor clinical response in patients after more than one line of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares different cell kinetic variables in human breast cancer. Prominent role of cell kinetics in predicting clinical outcome and response to treatment in neoplastic patients; Correlation coefficients observed between different cell kinetic variables determined in parallel on the same series of breast cancers; Theoretical significance of the study.