Approaches to improve development methods for therapeutic cancer vaccines.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines are an immunotherapy that amplify or induce an active immune response against tumors. Notably, limitations in the methodology for existing anti-cancer drugs may subsist while applying them to cancer vaccine therapy. A retrospective analysis was performed using information obtained from ClinicalTrials.

New concepts of biomarkers and clinical outcomes for therapeutic cancer vaccines in clinical trials.

Aim: This study aimed to derive meaningful parameters for immune monitoring during cancer vaccine development by analysis of the literature.

Methods: This retrospective study was based on analysis of clinical trials registered at ClinicalTrials.gov and published data available on PubMed.

Immunological monitoring of anticancer vaccines in clinical trials.

Therapeutic anticancer vaccines operate by eliciting or enhancing an immune response that specifically targets tumor-associated antigens. Although intense efforts have been made for developing clinically useful anticancer vaccines, only a few Phase III clinical trials testing this immunotherapeutic strategy have achieved their primary endpoint. Here, we report the results of a retrospective research aimed at clarifying the design of previously completed Phase II/III clinical trials testing therapeutic anticancer vaccines and at assessing the value of immunological monitoring in this setting.

Clinical evaluation of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines are an immunotherapy that targets tumor antigens to induce an active immune response. To date, Provenge® is the only therapeutic cancer vaccine approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Although therapeutic cancer vaccines have not been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), they have been approved in several countries other than the United States (US) and the European Union (EU).