Progress in active specific immunotherapy of prostate cancer

Treatments available for metastatic prostate cancer have failed to demonstr ate significant curative potential. Current efforts are now directed toward s developments of novel strategies for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Cancer immunotherapeutic strategies utilize patient immune system components to kill cancer cells. This review discusses progress in active s pecific immunotherapeutic approaches as potential alternative methods in th e treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Various methods of augmenting th e immune response against prostate cancer are discussed including systemic cytokine adjuvant therapy, cytokine gene transduced tumor vaccines, non-ant igen specific immunization, DNA and peptide vaccines plus adjuvants, as wel l as dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.