Abstract
Objective: Overview and comparison of current results of studies dealing with the development and application of anti-cancer vaccines based on dendritic cells in ovarian cancer. Design: Review.
Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Charles University, Prague, 2 nd Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, Department of Immunology 2 nd Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol. Summary: Ovarian carcinoma (OVCA) is highly sensitive to chemotherapy; however despite this results from treatment are fairly unsatisfactory.
Bearing this in mind, it is important to look for new ways to better understand the immunological mechanisms which could affect reactivation of the disease. It is likely that new knowledge in the field of the immunology of ovarian carcinoma could improve monitoring of the disease and help to ameliorate prognosis of the disease.
One strategy in development is creation of anti-OVCA vaccines. Theese vaccines are made by the fusion of dendritic cell (DC) and tumor cells or its parts (NA, peptides).
DC are bone-marrow derived leukocytes that are critical in the initiation of T cell mediated immunity. DC are fused to patient-derived ovarian carcinoma cells.
The fusion cells induces cytotoxic T cell against autologous OVCA cells.