Abstract
Background We performed a pilot study using Trojan vaccines in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). These vaccines are composed of HLA-I and HLA-II restricted melanoma antigen E (MAGE)-A3 or human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 derived peptides, joined by furin-cleavable linkers, and linked to a "penetrin" peptide sequence derived from HIV-TAT. Thirty-one patients with SCCHN were screened for the trial and 5 were enrolled. Methods Enrolled patients were treated with 300 μg of Trojan peptide supplemented with Montanide and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at 4-week intervals for up to 4 injections. Results Following vaccination, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 4 of 5 patients recognized both the full Trojan constructs and constituent HLA-II peptides, whereas responses to HLA-I restricted peptides were less pronounced. Conclusion This treatment regimen seems to have acceptable toxicity and elicits measurable systemic immune responses against HLA-II restricted epitopes in a subset of patients with advanced SCCHN. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1734-1746 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Head and Neck |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- HLA-I
- HLA-II
- SCCHN
- immune response
- vaccine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology