Prostate cancer vaccines in clinical trials

Abstract

This review presents important information about the current state of the art for vaccine immunotherapy of prostate cancer. It includes important preclinical research for each of the important prostate cancer vaccines to have reached clinical trials. To date, the only prostate cancer vaccine that has completed Phase III trials and has been approved and licensed by the US FDA is Sipuleucel-T, which immunizes patients against the prostate-associated antigen prostatic acid phosphatase. The benefits and concerns associated with the vaccine are presented. A current Phase III trial is currently underway using the vaccinia-based prostate-specific antigen vaccine Prostvac-TRICOM. Other immunotherapeutic vaccines in trials include the Ad/prostate-specific antigen vaccine Ad5-prostate-specific antigen and the DNA/prostatic acid phosphatase vaccine. A cellular vaccine, GVAX, has been in clinical trials but has not seen continuous study. This review also delves into the multiple immune regulatory elements that must be overcome in order to obtain strong antitumor-associated antigen immune responses capable of effectively destroying prostate tumor cells.

Keywords::

• Ad
• dendritic cells
• DNA
• GM-CSF
• immunoregulation
• immunotherapy
• prostate cancer
• vaccines
• vaccinia

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript