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Drug Evaluation

A novel personalized vaccine approach in combination with targeted therapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma

    Robert A Figlin

    Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Saperstein Critical Care Tower 1S28, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.

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    Email the corresponding author at robert.figlin@cshs.org

    Published Online:24 Apr 2014https://doi.org/10.2217/imt.13.168

    Abstract

    The historical treatment paradigm for metastatic renal cell carcinoma has focused on immunomodulatory agents, such as IFN-α and IL-2, which provide good clinical outcomes in only a subset of patients. The development of therapies that target the VEGF and mTOR pathways have significantly altered the treatment landscape for this disease, with novel inhibitors providing substantial improvements in progression-free and overall survival over previous standards of care. Despite these advances, toxicity from targeted therapy and the development of resistance results in disease progression. By contrast, vaccine-based immunotherapy represents a promising new approach for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma; however, tumor-induced immunosuppression has limited the clinical efficacy of this modality until recently. Some evidence suggests that certain targeted therapies, such as sunitinib, may reduce this immunosuppression and enhance the tumor microenvironment to promote synergy with autologous dendritic cell vaccines.

    Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest •• of considerable interest

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