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 pulsed with peptides eluted from the surface of autologous glioma cells. Three biweekly intradermal vaccinations of peptide-pulsed dendritic cells were administered to seven patients with glioblastoma multiforme and two patients with anaplastic astrocytoma. Dendritic cell vaccination elicited systemic cytotoxicity in four of seven tested patients. Robust intratumoral cytotoxic and memory T-cell infiltration was detected in two of four patients who underwent reoperation after vaccination. This Phase I study demonstrated the feasibility, safety, and bioactivity of an autologous peptide-pulsed dendritic cell vaccine for patients with malignant glioma.