Peptide-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy reviewed.

2004 APR 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists review peptide-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy in a recent issue of Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy.

"One approach in the immunotherapy of cancer patients involves vaccination with peptides derived from tumor-associated antigens specifically designed to associate with T cells in the context of major histocompatibility complex WHO class I or II molecules. Several clinical trials in different tumor types have been conducted utilizing this vaccination strategy. The majority of trials indicate that peptide vaccination has few toxicities associated with its administration, but disparities exist between in vitro and clinical responses," scientists in the United States report.

"However, this represents an evolving field and, thus, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions concerning the efficacy of peptide-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy," said Joeli A. Brinkman and colleagues at the University of Southern California. "Improvements to peptide vaccination, including the addition of various adjuvants, the ...