Vaccination of malignant glioma patients with peptide-pulsed dendritic cells elicits systemic cytotoxicity and intracranial T-cell infiltration

In this Phase I trial, patients' peripheral blood dendritic cells were puls ed with peptides eluted from the surface of autologous glioma cells. Three biweekly intradermal vaccinations of peptide-pulsed dendritic cells were ad ministered to seven patients with glioblastoma multiforme and two patients with anaplastic astrocytoma, Dendritic cell vaccination elicited systemic c ytotoxicity in four of seven tested patients. Robust intratumoral cytotoxic and memory T-cell infiltration was detected in two of four patients who un derwent reoperation after vaccination. This Phase I study demonstrated the feasibility, safety, and bioactivity of an autologous peptide-pulsed dendri tic cell vaccine for patients with malignant glioma.