Cancer vaccines with emphasis on a viral oncolysate melanoma vaccine

Biotherapy of malignant diseases has become the fourth treatment modality besides surgery, chemo- and radiotherapy. Whole cell melanoma vaccines with or without BCG and other adjuvants, purified ganglioside and shed antigens, recombinant viruses carrying tumor antigens, dendritic cells pulsed with antigenic peptides etc. are in clinical trials. Efficacious viral oncolysate vaccines induce the host to mount tumor-specific cytotoxic T-cell response and prevention of relapses is supported by clinical trials. The use of "polyvalent" whole cell vaccines vs. purified or genetically engineered single antigen vaccines is justified as i. only very few single tumor antigens are present in all tumors of a given histological type; and ii. antigen modulation occurs in tumors rendering them resistant to immune attack generated by vaccine against a single antigen. Thus polyvalent vaccines immunize against several antigens vs. against a selected antigen.