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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Sep 24.
Published in final edited form as: Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2009 Jul;18(7):1001–1011. doi: 10.1517/13543780902997928

Table 3.

Rationale for combining Prostvac with other cancer therapies.

Modality Proposed mechanism
Radiation therapy
  • -

    Phenotypic alterations enhance T cell-mediated killing.

  • -

    Increased expression of MHC, Fas, and TAAs.
Hormonal therapy
  • -

    Traffics T cells to prostate.

  • -

    Minimizes antiproliferative effects of testosterone on T cells.

  • -

    Enriches T-cell repertoire.

  • -

    Decreases immune tolerance to TAAs.
Chemotherapy
  • -

    Cytolysis of tumor cells exposes activated immune system to new TAAs, which can then be targeted.

  • -

    Increases proinflammatory cytokines (docetaxel).

  • -

    Selectively reduces Tregs (cyclophosphamide).
anti-CTLA-4 antibody
  • -

    Binds to CTLA-4 surface glycoprotein on T-cell surface, minimizing immune autoregulation and potentially enhancing antitumor activity.

MHC – major histocompatibility complex

TAAs – tumor-associated antigens

Tregs – regulatory T cells