Leukemia-derived dendritic cells: towards clinical vaccination protocols in acute myeloid leukemia.

The ability of acute myeloid leukemic (AML) blasts to differentiate into leukemic dendritic cells (DC) thus acquiring the potential to present known and unknown leukemic antigens efficiently, holds promise as a possible new treatment for AML patients with minimal residual disease. Recent advances in culture methods have made the clinical use of leukemic DC feasible. However, additional measures appear to be essential in order to potentiate vaccines and to overcome the intrinsic tolerant state of the patients immune system. This review describes ways to improve AML-DC vaccines and discusses critical aspects concerning the development of clinical vaccination protocols.