New data from University of Chicago illuminate research in cancer vaccines therapy
2007 NOV 19 -- Researchers detail in 'Failure at the effector phase: immune barriers at the level of the melanoma tumor microenvironment,' new data in cancer vaccines. "The clinical investigation of numerous therapeutic cancer vaccine strategies has resulted in relative disappointment. Whereas a minority of patients have indeed experienced clinical benefit, the majority of patients show disease progression even in cases in which induction of functional tumor antigen-specific T-cell responses as measured in the blood is easily detected," scientists writing in the journal Clinical Cancer Research report. "This observation has led to interrogation of the tumor microenvironment for potential mechanisms of tumor resistance to the effector phase of the antitumor T-cell response. Poor chemokine-mediated trafficking of effector cells and the action of negative regulatory pathways that inhibit T-cell function have been identified as key limiting factors. Important negative regulatory pathways include T-cell anergy from insufficient B7 costimulation, extrinsic suppression by regulatory T-cell populations, direct inhibition through inhibitory ligands such as PD-L1, and metabolic dysregulation such as through the activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase," wrote T.F Gajewski and colleagues, University of Chicago. The researchers concluded: "Recognition of these evasion mechanisms has pointed toward new therapeutic approaches for cancer immunotherapy." Gajewski and colleagues published their study in Clinical Cancer Research (Failure at the effector phase: immune barriers at the level of the melanoma tumor microenvironment. Clinical Cancer Research, 2007;13(18 Pt 1):5256-61). Additional information can be obtained by contacting T.F. Gajewski, University of Chicago, Departments of Pathology and Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60637 USA.. The publisher of the journal Clinical Cancer Research can be contacted at: American Association Cancer Research, 615 Chestnut St., 17TH Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106-4404, USA. Keywords: United States, Chicago, Cancer Vaccines Therapy, Cancer Research, Cancer Vaccines, Melanoma, Oncology, Therapy, Treatment. This article was prepared by Biotech Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Biotech Business Week via NewsRx.com.
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