Whole tumor cell vaccines engineered to secrete GM‐CSF (GVAX)

Abstract Generation of immunity against cancer through vaccination has long been an elusive goal for tumor immunologists. Putative candidates targets include oncofetal antigens, viral neoantigens, and differentiation antigens. The first attempts at used injections whole autologous cells. However, these unmodified cells did not engender a robust immune response. Subsequent efforts were focused enhancing the immunogenicity cell vaccines genetic modification, often virally mediated transduction genes encoding immunostimulatory molecules. Of many cytokines evaluated in context gene‐modified vaccines, granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) emerged as most potent generating protective antitumor immunity. Vaccination using irradiated, GM‐CSF producing (GVAX) consistently induced across several experimental models. term GVAX can connote secreting prepared with different vectors well vector including cells, allogeneic lines, bystander third party lines. solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, hematopoietic stem transplantation. extensively studied clinical trials, both alone conjunction lymphodepleting chemotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, other vaccines.