The contribution of dendritic cells to immune responses against urological cancers

Dendritic cells (DC) play an essential role in initiating and directing primary immune responses. Their antigen uptake, migration, and interaction with T lymphocytes are regulated. Immunohistological studies of renal cell carcinomas, prostatic carcinomas, and transitional cell carcinomas suggest that these malignancies fail to recruit or activate DC. Tumor mediated inhibition of DC function may also occur by a variety of mechanisms. These data provide a rationale for the use of DC for active tumor immunotherapy. Initial data suggests that DC may help generate effective T lymphocyte responses against prostate cancer antigens and optimization of DC preparations, tumor antigenic material, and vaccination schedules are now priorities for therapeutic programs.