Table 1.
Clinical trials employing different DC subsets and different sources of antigens.
| DC subset | Loading with | No. of patients | Tumor type | Vaccination procedure | Clinical outcome | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| moDC | Autologous lysate | 10 | Epithelial MPM | Three vaccinations i.d. (1/3) and i.v. (2/3) in at 0, 2 and 4 weeks | CT scans and chest X-rays analyzed with modified RECIST: PRs (n = 3), SD (n = 1) and NR (n = 6) | (45) |
| moDC | Allogeneic tumor cell lysate | 9 | MPM | Three biweekly vaccinations i.d. (1/3) and i.v. (2/3), followed by a boost at 3 and 6 months | CT scans analyzed with modified RECIST: PR (n = 2), SD (n = 7) Median PFS of 8.8 months and median OS not reached | (78) |
| moDC | Allogeneic tumor cell lysate | 27 | Prostate cancer | Twelve vaccinations s.c. at the axillary and inguinal areas; patients received 1 week of cyclophosphamide in metronomic setting prior to vaccinations | Increase of median PSADT from 5.67 (prior treatment) to 18.85 months (after treatment) | (48) |
| moDC | 2 TAAs | 15 | NSCLC | Three vaccinations i.v. in 1-week intervals | Long-term follow-up until 2017: low dose group: no recurrence, progressive disease and death (n = 1 each); middle dose group: no recurrence (n = 3); high dose group: no recurrence (n = 7), progressive disease and death (n = 1) | (49) |
| moDC | 3 TAAs | 156 | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Six injections s.c. near the inguinal lymph nodes over 14 weeks | Difference in RFS not statistically significant between treated and control groups; Significantly prolonged RFS in the treated non-radiofrequency ablation subgroup | (79) |
| moDC | TAA-mRNA | 30 | AML (in remission) | I.d. injections four times at 2-week intervals | Antileukemic effect (n = 13) with minimal residual disease (n = 9) or SD (n = 4); significantly higher OS and RFS compared to non-responders | (80) |
| moDC | 4 HLA class I and 6 HLA class II peptides | 53 | Metastatic melanoma | Four vaccinations (at week 0, 2, 6, 10) followed after 2 months by 6 vaccination maintenance cycles for up to 2 years | No regression of all metastases according to WHO criteria but slow regression of individual metastases; 75% OS at 5 years in group of tumor-free patients; 19% of patients still alive after 12-year follow-up | (81) |
| moDC | 6 HER2 MHC class II binding peptides | 42 | HER2+ breast cancer | Six weekly injections into the breast, into the groin LNs, or into both breast and in groin LNs | Higher pathologic complete response rate in ductal carcinoma in situ patients compared with invasive breast cancer patients (28.6% vs. 8.3%) | (74) |
| cDC2s | 3 TAAs | 14 | Metastatic melanoma | Three i.n. injections once every 2 weeks; followed by 2 maintenance cycles of 3 biweekly vaccinations each with a 6-week interval | Long-term PFS of 12-35 months (n = 4) and median OS of 13.3 months | (47) |
| pDCs | 3 TAAs | 15 | Metastatic melanoma | Three i.n. injections once every 2 weeks, followed by 2 maintenance cycles of 3 biweekly vaccinations with a 6-week interval | SD (n = 2), mixed response (n = 1); increased PFS (4.0 vs. 2.1 months) and OS (22.0 vs. 7.6 months) compared to 72 matched control (chemotherapy-treated) patients | (46) |
AML, acute myeloid leukemia; cDC2s, conventional DCs 2; CT, computed tomography; i.d, intra-dermal; i.n.,intra-nodal; i.v., intra-venously; moDCs, monocyte-derived DCs; MPM, malignant pleural mesothelioma; NR, no response; NSCLC, non-small cell lung carcinoma; PR, partial response; RECIST, Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors; OS, overall survival; pDCs, plasmacytoid DCs; PFS, progression-free survival; PSADT, prostate-specific antigen doubling time; RFS, recurrence-free survival; SD, stable disease; TAA, tumor-associated antigen; s.c. subcutaneous.