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Potentiation of Anticancer Antibody Efficacy by Antineoplastic Drugs: Detection of Antibody-drug Synergism Using the Combination Index Equation
Published on: January 19, 2019
Combining Vaccines with Conventional Therapies for Cancer.
Philip M Arlen1, Ravi A Madan, James W Hodge
1Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Update on Cancer Therapeutics
|October 20, 2007
Summary
Therapeutic cancer vaccines, combined with radiation or chemotherapy, show promise in early trials. Ongoing research aims to confirm improved survival and disease progression in cancer patients receiving these novel combination therapies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Therapeutic cancer vaccines are under investigation for combination with existing and novel anticancer treatments.
- Despite no FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccines, emerging data suggest their significant role in multimodal cancer treatment strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and discuss therapeutic cancer strategies involving vaccines combined with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody (mAb).
- To highlight the immune modulatory effects of certain anticancer agents and their impact on cancer cell susceptibility to immune destruction.
Main Methods:
- Review of preclinical studies on the immune modulatory effects of anticancer agents.
- Analysis of preliminary clinical data from combination therapy trials involving therapeutic cancer vaccines.
Main Results:
- Preclinical evidence indicates anticancer agents can enhance immune recognition and destruction of malignant cells.
- Early clinical findings show a postvaccination antigen cascade, extended time to disease progression, and enhanced overall survival.
Conclusions:
- Combination strategies utilizing therapeutic cancer vaccines show encouraging preliminary results in preclinical and clinical settings.
- Larger randomized trials are necessary to validate these findings and establish the efficacy of vaccine-based combination cancer therapies.
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