The role of dendritic cells in cytotoxic immune response regulation in ovarian cancer micro-environment

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy. At the time of diagnosis most patients present with an advanced stage of the disease and require multidisciplinary systemic treatment, including surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Despite good initial response to cytostatics, the vast majority of patients develops a recurrence and will need novel therapeutic strategies, as relapsed ovarian cancer is still incurable. One promising treatment option is the use of dendritic cells (DCs) which might induce effective anti-tumor immunity. The ability of DCs to generate an anti-cancer response has been documented in various kinds of human tumors, including malignant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and breast cancer tumors. Although DCs were identified in the microenvironment of ovarian cancer, lack of clearly defined ovarian-specific tumor antigens capable of being recognized by T cells is considered the major prohibiting factor in ovarian cancer vaccine development. There is therefore a strong need to identify and employ attractive candidates for tumor-specific antigens. In this review we will focus on current knowledge of the influence of DC mechanisms of cytotoxic T-cell responses and recent advances in DC identification in ovarian cancer patients, in addition to summarizing the data on DC vaccinations in these patients.