CURRENT STATUS OF HUMAN-MELANOMA VACCINES - CAN THEY CONTROL MALIGNANT-MELANOMA

The characterisation of human melanomas as immunogenic and the observa tion of spontaneous regression have led to the development of active s pecific immunotherapy in the form of vaccines for treatment of maligna nt melanoma. These vaccines have recently been the subject of consider able interest, particularly since the introduction of melanoma antigen cloning, the identification of specific peptide sequences recognised by the immune system, and better understanding of antigen presentation . Today, melanoma vaccines are a significant therapeutic agent in trea tment of malignant melanoma. There are many melanoma vaccines that are in clinical trials which have produced very encouraging clinical resp onses. This review discusses the different forms of melanoma vaccines used in the 1990s and their current status in clinical trials.