Prophylactic vaccines against cancers of non-infectious origin: a dream or a real possibility?

The dramatic progress in tumour biology and immunology in the past several years has opened new avenues for the treatment and prevention of cancer. One of the great contributions of the immunotherapeutic approaches is an increasing understanding of the immunology of cancer, which is, gradually creating conditions for the development of prophylactic anti-cancer vaccines. Efficient vaccines have been developed and employed for the prophylaxis of two frequent cancers of viral origin, namely cervical cancer and liver cancer.

Intracellular Cytokines Produced by Stimulated CD3+ Cells from Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients.

Our work examined the production of intracellular interferon (INF)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-4 by in vitro stimulated CD3+ cells from 38 chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. At the time of diagnosis the percentages of cells producing INF-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 were strongly suppressed compared to those in healthy control subjects. Hematological remission achieved through treatment with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors was associated with a highly significant increase in the ratio of cells producing all 4 cytokines.

The Relationship of Kynurenine and Neopterin Levels and Their Association with a Selection of Other Immune Markers in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Patients.

Among malignant diseases, chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is one of the best suited candidates for immunotherapy. For this purpose it is necessary to broaden the present knowledge on the immunology of this disease. As a part of such a project, the levels of kynurenine (KYN) and neopterin (NPT) were studied in 28 CML patients and in the same number of healthy subjects.

Predictive value of serum cytokine levels in chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

Serum samples taken at diagnosis in 28 chronic myeloid leukemia patients were tested for the presence of 20 cytokines by a magnetic bead-based Bio-plex immunoassay. According to complete cytogenetic remission achieved at 12 months of treatment, patients were divided into groups with either optimal or non-optimal outcome. Patients with increased cytokine levels tended to react optimally to the therapy more frequently than those others.

[Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in oncology and psychiatry].

In the last years an attention has been paid to the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an enzyme catabolising L-tryptophan to kynurenine. Growing evidence has been accumulated that kynurenine and other metabolites of tryptophan play an important role in the pathogenesis of malignant tumours and some neurological and psychiatric disorders. The gradual recognition of mechanisms operative in their development may help to identify etiological factors involved and becomes prerequisite for the progress in their diagnostics and therapy.