Dendritic Cell-Based Cancer Vaccines

What is a dendritic cell?
A dendritic cell is a type of immune cell that is important for activating the immune system's T cells and B cells. Dendritic cells are called "antigen-presenting cells" because they present pieces of foreign substances, called antigens, to the immune system.

What is a dendritic cell vaccine?
During the formation and development of cancer cells, they acquire many features, one of which is the ability to deceive the immune system cells and hide from them. Similarly, they can hide from dendritic cells. This allows them to circulate unrecognized in organs, the bloodstream, and lymphatic vessels. Therefore, a vaccine prepared from dendritic cells against the patient's cancer increases the number of anti-cancer dendritic cells in the body and stimulates the body's natural immune system to fight against cancer cells.

Dendritic cell vaccine is a complementary cancer treatment that helps:

• Target and kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells
• Reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis
• Increase the effectiveness of other cancer treatments when used in combination
• Shrink cancerous tumors.
• Strengthen the immune system's anti-cancer response
• Decrease and increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy side effects
• Reduce cancer-related symptoms.

 

How dendrritic cell vaccines are prepared?

       Dendritic cell vaccines are a type of cancer immunotherapy that uses a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. The first step in making a dendritic cell vaccine is to collect a sample of the patient's blood. This sample is then sent to a laboratory, where it is processed to isolate the dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are a type of immune cell that play a role in activating the immune system.
Once the dendritic cells are isolated, they are exposed to cancer antigens, molecules found on the surface of cancer cells. The dendritic cells take up these antigens and present them on their surface, which helps to activate the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells.
Next, the activated dendritic cells are injected back into the patient's body, typically through an intravenous (IV) line. The dendritic cells travel to the lymph nodes, where they encounter T cells, another type of immune cell. The dendritic cells present the cancer antigens to the T cells, which then become activated and attack the cancer cells.

Dendritic cell vaccines are used in the treatment of:

• Melanoma (skin cancer)
• Glioblastoma (brain cancer)
• Breast cancer
• Colon cancer
• Osteosarcoma(bone)
• Soft tissue sarcoma
• Mesothelioma (pleura cancer)
• Pancreas cancer
• Lung cancers
• Prosta cancer
• An the other organ cancers in the body.

At what stage is the dendritic cell vaccine applied?
Dendritic cell vaccines are applied as a complementary cancer treatment in early-stage patients with a high risk of metastasis, locally advanced-stage patients (those with large tumors and a high risk of metastasis but without distant metastasis), and fourth-stage cancer patients with small metastatic lesion.

How many doses of dendritic cell vaccine are given?
After administering five doses of the vaccine at two-week intervals, the treatment continues as long as cancer responds, with repeat doses given at intervals of 1-6 months, depends on the results of imaging and tests.

 

What are the possible side effects of the dendritic cell vaccine?
Because the vaccine is made from the patient's own cells, the risk of side effects is minimal. Possible side effects may include irritation in the eyes, joint pain, stomach pain, swelling, rash on the skin, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
You can obtain information about dendritic cancer vaccines from your oncology doctor.

 

Reference:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02265/full#:~:text=The%20induction%2of%20a%20tumor, search%20of%20their%20respective%20antigen
https://moffitt.org/for-healthcare-professionals/clinical-perspectives/clinical-perspectives-story-archive/cancer-immunotherapy-breakthrough-dendritic-cell-vaccines/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42859-020-00022-7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10073291/