In recent years, an increasing number of new approaches to cancer treatment have emerged. One of the most promising areas is the use of dendritic cells (DCs). They are being used to create personalized cancer vaccines. Dendritic cell therapy first entered clinical practice in 2010, when a vaccine was approved for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Since then, many other vaccines have been developed and used in specialized clinics in developed countries.
Here is how it works
DC therapy is a form of immunotherapy. This is a broad field of medicine that includes many techniques. In oncology, immunotherapy involves using the capabilities of the body’s own immune system to fight malignant tumors.
DCs are antigen-presenting cells. They break down large molecules of antigens into small pieces to show them to T-cells. T-cells learn to recognize them and attack the tumor. But in cancer, the activity of DCs is reduced. In addition, tumors know how to evade the immune system’s attacks. Cancer cells pretend to be normal, and immune cells don’t attack them.
The use of DCs is one way to boost the immune response. The essence of the treatment is that DCs are taken from a person’s blood, trained to recognize the tumor, and returned to the body. The DCs then train T-cells to recognize and attack the tumor.
What happens during the treatment
Dendritic cell vaccine is not available in pharmacies. This preparation is made individually for each patient from his or her own blood.
The best time for DC therapy is after surgery. As a result of surgery, doctors receive biological material that can be used to train the DCs to recognize the tumor.
A sample regimen of dendritic cell treatment:
- Blood is collected from a person
- Monocytes are isolated
- Dendritic cells are produced
- DCs contact with tumor antigens
- Trained DCs are injected back into the body
It takes 2 to 3 weeks to make a personalized vaccine. Doctors receive several doses. The frequency and number of injections, as well as the number of dendritic cells per injection, vary depending on the type of cancer and the stage of the disease.
The benefits
In developed countries such as Germany, more and more clinics are using DCs as they help improve cancer treatment outcomes. Benefits of the dendritic cell vaccine:
- Compatibility with all therapies. Alone with increasing their efficacy, dendritic cells do not increase the toxicity of therapy.
- Efficacy at any stage, from early to advanced. In the early stages, dendritic cell vaccines are used to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence after surgery. In metastatic cancer, DCs help reduce the growth of all tumors at once.
- Systemic action. DCs affect the entire body, not just a single tumor. Once introduced into the body, the immune system begins to attack metastases, destroying microscopic clusters of cancer cells that have not yet become tumors.
- Non-toxic treatment. Patients experience flu-like reactions in the first few days after DCs administration. Serious side effects are extremely rare. Dendritic cell vaccines are better tolerated than most other cancer treatments.
- Treatment without discomfort. Dendritic cell vaccinations do not require painful procedures or surgery. In addition, patients do not have to stay in the hospital as long as with other treatments such as chemotherapy.
DCs are used as monotherapy or in combination with other immunotherapies. In most cases, the effect of DCs is enhanced by oncolytic viruses or immune checkpoint inhibitors. While dendritic cells force T-cells to attack the tumor more effectively, immune checkpoint inhibitors unmask cancer cells so that they cannot evade the immune response.
Where to go to get treated
Until now, DCs have only been used in specialized medical centers in developed countries. It is a high-tech technique that is still considered experimental for most types of cancer.
If you want to receive a dendritic cell vaccine for prostate cancer or undergo treatment of other oncological diseases abroad, use Booking Health service. Here you can find out prices, choose a clinic, make an appointment for diagnostics and treatment on convenient dates.
Booking Health staff will help you choose a medical center that uses DCs and other innovative methods of cancer treatment and organize your trip. By working with Booking Health, you can reduce the cost of medical services abroad, as there will be no additional charges for foreign patients.