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Melanoma Vaccines in Development

Looking to the Future

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Abstract

There is a body of evidence indicating that melanoma is an antigenic tumour. Since the efficacy of standard therapy in advanced stages of melanoma is rather poor, experimental immunotherapy aims to target this aggressive neoplasm. After the identification of several melanoma antigens, vaccination trials have been initiated in patients with metastatic disease using peptides, dendritic cells and gene therapy approaches including viral vectors or naked DNA. If the problems in inducing a constant and potent T cell response are solved, the stability of melanoma antigens and their presentation will decide whether these treatment approaches will reach significant relevance in daily clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

Grants from the Cancer League Zürich and the Swiss Cancer League to F.O. Nestle, and from the Swiss Science Foundation to R. Dummer (no. 31-55727.98), are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Gloriastrasse 31, CH-8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Reinhard Dummer & Frank O. Nestle

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  1. Reinhard Dummer
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  2. Frank O. Nestle
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Correspondence to Reinhard Dummer.

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Dummer, R., Nestle, F.O. Melanoma Vaccines in Development. BioDrugs 13, 227–231 (2000). https://doi.org/10.2165/00063030-200013040-00001

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