[New aspects of immunotherapy of malignant melanoma]

Malignant melanoma is a fatal disease in its terminal stage. Despite of all attempts to prolong the life of the patient with chemo- or chemoimmunotherapies, the course of the disease is rarely affected. Specific immunotherapies with antigen-pulsed DC might be a reason for optimism. DC are professional antigen-presenting cells with a capability to process and present melanoma antigens. First vaccination studies show encouraging results with complete remissions even in progressed cases.