Safety and feasibility evaluation of first-in-human interleukin-15-transpresenting Wilms'tumor (WT1) targeting autologous dendritic cell vaccination in cancer patients.

Improvement of frontline treatment for cancer patients with a high tumor recurrence rate and low effective treatment options is warranted. Dendritic cell (DC) vaccination is in this context a promising immunotherapeutic armament. Complementary to current treatments, DCs as quintessential antigen-presenting cells of the immune system, can activate the antitumor immune system to attack cancer cells. We previously established novel monocyte-derived DC generation protocols integrating the pleiotropic immune regulator interleukin (IL)-15 while downmodulating ligands for the inhibitory checkpoint programmed death (PD)-1. Our preclinical data demonstrate high therapeutic potential of these designer DCs, evidenced by superior immunogenic capacities. Further extending our DC immunotherapy program, this project is designed to enable the first-in-human clinical application of our novel designer DC vaccines, allowing development of clinical-grade production processes, human in vivo safety and feasibility testing and design of next-level combinatorial therapy approaches for cancer patients with a high unmet medical need.

Keywords:CANCER VACCINES, CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY, CLINICAL TRIAL, DENDRITIC CELLS

Disciplines:Vaccinology, Cancer therapy, Vaccines