Cancer Science 2015-02-01

Immunologically augmented skin flap as a novel dendritic cell vaccine against head and neck cancer in a rat model.

Keita Inoue, Noriko Saegusa, Maho Omiya, Tadashi Ashizawa, Haruo Miyata, Masaru Komiyama, Akira Iizuka, Akiko Kume, Takashi Sugino, Ken Yamaguchi, Yoshio Kiyohara, Masahiro Nakagawa, Yasuto Akiyama

Index: Cancer Sci. 106(2) , 143-50, (2015)

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Abstract

Local recurrence is a major clinical issue following surgical resection in head and neck cancer, and the dissemination and lymph node metastasis of minimal residual disease is relatively difficult to treat due to the lack of suitable therapeutic approaches. In the present study, we developed and evaluated a novel immunotherapy using a skin flap transfer treated with sensitized dendritic cells (DC), termed the "immuno-flap," in a rat tumor model. After the local round area of skin was resected, SCC-158 cells (a rat head and neck cancer cell line) were inoculated into the muscle surface; lastly, the groin skin flap injected with mature DC was overlaid. Two weeks after the second DC injection, systemic immunological reactions and tumor size were measured. The DC-treated group showed a significant reduction in tumor size compared with the control. Although the induction of CTL activity in spleen cells was marginal, Th1 cytokines such as interleukin-2 and interferon-γ were elevated in the DC-treated group. These results suggest that a novel immunotherapy based on the immuno-flap method has the potential for clinical application to prevent the local recurrence of head and neck cancer patients. © 2014 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.