Dendritic Cell Vaccine Therapy

At Tokyo Midtown Center for Advanced Medical Science and Technology, we offer personalized cancer treatments tailored to the needs of each individual patient. Our dendritic cell vaccine therapy uses the WT1 peptide developed by Osaka University combined with other synthetic cancer antigens for an optimal result.

Immunotherapy refers to a treatment that uses patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. Dendritic cell vaccine therapy is type of immunotherapy in which dendritic cells that have learned cancer cell markers (cancer antigens) are made to instruct lymphocytes to attacks cancer cells. The dendritic cells teach lymphocytes the cancer markers, so only the cancer cells are targeted in dendritic cell vaccine therapy. Furthermore, because vaccines are produced from patient’s own cells, side effects are usually mild including fever and redness at the injection site.

Synergistic effects can be expected by combining dendritic cell vaccine therapy with standard cancer treatments, such as surgical procedures, anticancer drugs, and radiation therapy.

In addition to dendritic cell vaccine therapy, we aim to provide the best cancer treatment for each and every one of our patients with an effective combination of Natural Killer Cell Therapy and/or Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cell Therapy(alpha-beta T-cell therapy).

Dendritic cells are immune cells that function as commanders giving the tumor information to soldier lymphocytes attacking cancer. In dendritic cell vaccine therapy, cells (monocytes) that are precursors for dendritic cells are extracted from the patient’s blood and artificially grown into dendritic cells. These cells are then taught with cancer cells and artificial antigens, both of which serve as cancer markers. Once they are injected back into the patient’s body as a vaccine, the dendritic cells teach the cancer markers to lymphocytes so that they attack only cancer cells. Dendritic cell vaccine therapy makes use of the human immune system, reducing the burden on the patient’s body and causing fewer side effects, and it can attack cancer very effectively.

Natural Killer (NK) cells attack virus-infected cells and cancerous cells, and have disease-prevention functions. NK cell therapy is an immunotherapy that enhances direct attack on cancer cells by proliferating NK cells.

The combination of NK cell therapy and dendritic cell vaccine therapy is thought to be ideal, because NK cells can attack cancer cells that are hard to target with dendritic cell vaccines (cancer cells that escape destruction by T cells commanded by dendritic cells).

Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cell Therapy is a treatment method in which lymphocytes are extracted from the blood, activated outside the body to kill cancer cells, and then returned to the body. A cancer cell is surrounded and attacked by a great number of lymphocytes, so this treatment method can be effective against not only a specific cancer, but also any type of cancer antigen. This therapy was first introduced about 20 years ago, and it has obtained results in preventing the progression of cancer in about 20% to 30% of patients with recurrent skin or kidney cancer. Combined use with dendritic cell vaccine therapy is expected to produce synergistic effects by utilizing the advantages of both treatments.

At Tokyo Midtown Center for Medical Science and Technology, doctors with extensive experience in the field of cancer treatment work closely with each other, have long discussions with the patient, thoroughly ask about the patient’s thoughts and feelings, and devote their best efforts to finding an optimal course of treatment for each individual patient.