granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor engineered autologous melanoma cells

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) engineered autologous melanoma cells is an autologous cancer vaccine developed by Cell Genesys in collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The therapy involves harvesting a patient's own melanoma cells, genetically modifying them using a retroviral or adenoviral vector to secrete human GM-CSF, and then lethally irradiating the cells to prevent proliferation while maintaining metabolic activity. When administered intradermally or subcutaneously, the modified cells secrete GM-CSF, which acts as a potent adjuvant to recruit and activate dendritic cells and other antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to the vaccination site. These APCs process the full spectrum of tumor-associated antigens from the irradiated cells and migrate to regional lymph nodes to prime a systemic, polyvalent T-cell-mediated immune response against the patient's metastatic melanoma. While early Phase I and II trials demonstrated significant immune activation and clinical disease control, the autologous approach was largely superseded by allogeneic off-the-shelf versions of the GVAX platform.

Brand names

GVAX

Other names

autologous GVAX melanoma vaccineGM-CSF-secreting autologous melanoma vaccineGM-CSF-transduced autologous melanoma cells