Dendritic cell based immunotherapy--a promising therapeutic approach for endocrine malignancies

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cells in the human organism. Ever since the discovery of their function in the self/nonself discrimination, DCs have been seen as potential candidates for therapy in malignant tumors. With the exception of differentiated thyroid cancer, endocrine malignancies are rare tumors and apart from surgical intervention there is no truly established method for their treatment. Therefore, the prognosis of many endocrine carcinomas is still poor and new therapeutic options are needed. In the last decade, different immunotherapeutic approaches have shown promising results in other solid tumors. In recent studies, immunotherapy using DCs has been proven to be safe and effective to induce antitumor immune responses leading to tumor regression and even rejection of cancer in some cases. This review will summarize the latest progress in DCs based immunotherapy with special focus on the limited experience in endocrine malignancies. With regard to these tumors, it is of special interest which antigens could serve as potential target antigens for future trials. We also discuss what steps have to be taken to develop a better immunotherapy in endocrine tumors.