Current status of clinical trials for glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma, the most highly aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer, has been a particular challenge to treat in terms of improving a patient's quality of life and outcome. Each of the current treatment options is limited due to factors intrinsic to the tumor's biology and the special microenvironment of its location within the brain. Surgical resection is limited by the non-circumscribed borders that can be detected.

Technology evaluation: bevacizumab, Genentech/Roche.

Bevacizumab, an antivascular endothelial growth factor monoclonal antibody, is being developed by Genentech and Roche as an anti-angiogenesis therapy for the potential treatment of solid tumors. In June 2003, bevacizumab was granted Fast Track status by the FDA for the potential treatment of first-line colorectal cancer. The antibody is currently in phase III trials for non-small-cell lung, colorectal and breast cancers, and in phase II trials for various other solid tumor types.

Dendritic cells efficiently acquire and present antigen derived from lung cancer cells and induce antigen-specific T-cell responses.

Active immunotherapy of cancer requires the availability of a source of tumor antigens. To date, no such antigen associated with lung cancer has been identified. We have therefore investigated the ability of dendritic cells (DC) to capture whole irradiated human lung tumor cells and to present a defined surrogate antigen derived from the ingested tumor cells.

Current methods for loading dendritic cells with tumor antigen for the induction of antitumor immunity.

The immunotherapy of cancer is predicated on the belief that it is possible to generate a clinically meaningful antitumor response that provides patient benefit, such as improvement in the time to progression or survival. Indeed, immunotherapeutics with dendritic cells (DC) as antigen-presenting delivery vehicles for cell-based vaccines have already improved patient outcome against a wide range of tumor types (1-9). This approach stimulates the patient's own antitumor immunity through the induction or enhancement of T-cell immunity.

The development of immunotherapies for non-small cell lung cancer.

Standard of care for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation) may enhance patient survival but the enhancement is typically transient and quite uncommon with advanced disease. Researchers and medical professionals are using new approaches to improve patient mortality and morbidity. One of these approaches, immunotherapy, seeks to stimulate antitumour immunity above a threshold level needed for tumour regression or to induce stability in the face of progression.

Serological cloning of PARIS-1: a new TBC domain-containing, immunogenic tumor antigen from a prostate cancer cell line.

Identifying immunogenic tumor antigens plays a critical role in developing efficient diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for treatment of cancer. Using a recently developed technology, serological identification of antigens by recombinant expression cloning (SEREX), we identified a total of 8 genes whose expression elicited antibody responses in prostate cancer patients. Of the 8 genes, 5 represented known genes in the GenBank database, 2 were previously uncharacterized genes, and 1 showed sequence homology to a mouse gene.