autologous dendritic cells (Fundación Salud de los Andes)

This is an investigational autologous dendritic cell (DC) therapy developed by Fundación Salud de los Andes in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional de Colombia for the treatment of breast cancer. The therapy involves the ex vivo differentiation of a patient's monocytes into immature DCs, which are then matured using pro-inflammatory cytokine cocktails (standard and alpha DCs) in a GLP-compliant laboratory. Unlike traditional DC vaccines, these cells are 'antigen-free,' meaning they are not loaded with specific tumor antigens before administration. Instead, they are administered in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide). The rationale is that chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death releases antigens in vivo, which the transferred DCs then capture and present to T cells, thereby enhancing the anti-tumor immune response. A Phase I/II trial in patients with stage IIA-IV breast cancer demonstrated that the therapy is safe and promotes the recovery of T-cell functional capacity.

Other names

antigen-free autologous dendritic cellsautologous dendritic cell therapyautologous DCs