Brain Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Brain Cancer, including details on symptoms, benign and malignant tumors, gliomas, treatment.

Cell therapies in neuro-oncology.

Pellegatta S, Finocchiaro G

Istituto Nazionale Neurologico Carlo Besta, Unit of Experimental Neuro-Oncology, Via Celoria 11, I-20133 Milan, Italy.

During their growth, malignant gliomas interact with the immune system and are able to escape immune reactions. Attempts to instruct the immune system to develop anti-glioma reactions have been partly unsuccessful. Recent advances in the molecular and cellular biology of dendritic cells (DC), however, may increase the chances of preparing effective "vaccines" against these tumours. We show that vaccination with DC pulsed with a tumour lysate considerably increases survival in mice bearing intracranial glioblastomas. These results support the development of DC-based clinical trials for patients with glioblastomas that do not respond to standard therapies.

Published 10 May 2005 in Neurol Sci, 26: S43-5.
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