K562-GM

K562-GM is an allogeneic whole-cell cancer vaccine developed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the treatment of various thoracic malignancies. It consists of the human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line K562, which has been genetically modified to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and subsequently irradiated to prevent proliferation. In this "bystander" vaccine approach, the K562-GM cells serve as a local source of GM-CSF to recruit and activate host dendritic cells at the injection site. These activated dendritic cells then uptake and cross-present tumor-associated antigens to stimulate a systemic anti-tumor T-cell response. The vaccine has been evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials as an adjuvant therapy, often in combination with metronomic cyclophosphamide and celecoxib, for patients with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and thymic neoplasms who have minimal residual disease after standard therapy.

Other names

Allogeneic Tumor Cell Vaccine (K562)GM-K562GM-K-562GM-K 562GM-CSF-secreting K562 cell line vaccine