Melanoma vaccines as a therapeutic option.

BACKGROUND: In 1998, 41,600 new cases of melanoma with 7,300 deaths were expected. Worldwide, the incidence has risen 5% a year against a backdrop of generally decreasing cancer trends. Later stages of melanoma carry a severe prognosis. The need for newer, more effective therapeutic strategies for cancer is obvious. For melanoma, early diagnosis and surgical treatment are the only options that are currently curative. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are of limited efficacy. METHODS: We reviewed the various forms of immunotherapy, concentrating on vaccine therapy. We then reviewed the history of our own vaccine in the context of the field of immunotherapy, and compared efficacy, immune response, production methods, and survival. RESULTS: Survival is improved among recipients of melanoma vaccine when compared with patients receiving conventional therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Imnmunotherapy in the form of melanoma vaccines is better than conventional therapy and is trending toward purer antigenic preparations.

Comparison of melanoma antigens in whole tumor vaccine to those from IIB-MEL-J cells.

Immunotherapy for melanoma shows promise. Our previous whole tumor (WT) vaccine was noted to have positive clinical effects. We have now developed a new, safer melanoma vaccine that is derived from IIB-MEL-J tissue culture (TC) cells. In this study, we compare by Western blot analyses the antigens in the WT vaccine to antigens in the TC vaccine. Sera from 12 WT vaccine recipients, 8 melanoma patients who received no immunotherapy, and 8 controls served as a source of antibodies to investigate potential antigens in the vaccines. Three major antigenic peptides with approximate molecular weighs of 46, 40, and 36 kDA were present in both vaccines, while two other antigenic peptides with approximate molecular weighs of 68 and 48 kDA were present only in the TC vaccine. The reaction was similar between the patients who received the WT vaccine and those who did not receive the vaccine. Some of the individuals who did not have melanoma showed some reaction, but not to the extent of the melanoma patients. The intensity of immunostaining was greater for the TC vaccine when compared to the WT vaccine, indicating that these proteins are in a higher concentration in the TC vaccine. This new vaccine from IIB-MEL-J tissue culture cells provides a higher yield and a much more consistent source of potentially clinically relevant antigens without risk of infection or contamination by other irrelevant materials.

Effects of the adjuvant MPL + TDM on tumor challenge in the B16 mouse melanoma model.

Mice were injected three times at 2 week intervals with the adjuvant MPL + TDM or phosphate-buffered saline. Two weeks after the last injection, all mice were challenged subcutaneously with a tumorgenic dose of B16 tumor and observed for 40 days. The adjuvant hastened the time at which tumors appeared (P = 0.02).