OVERVIEW OF MELANOMA VACCINES - ACTIVE SPECIFIC IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR MELANOMA PATIENTS

Although a phase III trial has yet to show a statistically significant improvement in the disease-free or overall survival of melanoma patie nts receiving vaccine therapy, several phase II trials have shown enha nced disease-free and overall survival of patients who develop a humor al and/or cellular response to a melanoma vaccine. The challenge of ac tive specific immunotherapy research is to determine which combination of humoral and cellular immune responses optimizes clinical outcome a nd how to monitor the immune response effectively. This review identif ies key components of a successful melanoma vaccine, discusses new way s to modulate and stimulate the immune system, and summarizes some of the important clinical trials of active specific immunotherapy for pat ients with melanoma. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.