[Immunotherapy and cell therapy for myeloid leukemia]

To develop effective cellular immunotherapy for hematopoietic malignancies, the tumor-associated antigens that are recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) must be identified. Recently, various leukaemia-associated antigens that are recognized by CTL in the context of HLA class I molecules have been identified. These include fusion gene products such as BCR-ABL and ETV6-AML1, proteinase 3, WT1, human telomerase reverse transcriptase, cyclophilin B, and PRAME. In addition, various target antigens associated with other hematopoietic malignancies have been also identified. On the basis of these findings, various clinical trials of immunotherapy for hematological malignancies, including peptide vaccination, dendritic cell therapy, adoptive transfer of CTL, T-cell receptor gene therapy have been ongoing. Here, the current status and future feasibility of cellular immunotherapy for leukemia are discussed.