Vaccination against myeloid leukaemias using newly defined antigens

Abstract

First complete remission rates are high in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), with some variation depending on the presence of specific cytogenetic and molecular aberrations. However, the remission is often not long lasting and relapse occurs after standard chemotherapy within two years. Besides chemotherapy, non-specific immunotherapy in the form of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an integral part of consolidation and salvage therapy in the treatment of AML. A large number of leukaemia-associated antigens (LAAs) that can act as potential targets for specific immunotherapy have been identified, and the number is still increasing. To date, several of these antigens are being utilized in clinical vaccination trials, either as active specific immunotherapy in form of peptide vaccination or as passive specific immunotherapy as adoptive cell therapies. This chapter reviews the role of newly defined LAAs as well as the results of already performed clinical vaccination trials with known LAAs.