METHODS: Eligible patients were administered WT1/MUC1-DC vaccination at least seven times every 2 weeks with concomitant adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of PDA.
RESULTS: Ten patients were enrolled and no Grade 2 or higher toxicities were associated with DC vaccination. The estimated overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) at 3-years from the time of surgical resection were 77.8% and 35.0%, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis suggested a possible relationship between induction of WT1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte after DC vaccination and higher infiltration of CD3/CD4/CD8 lymphocytes in tumor tissues.
CONCLUSIONS: WT1/MUC1-DC vaccination in the adjuvant setting was safe and well-tolerated in PDA patients after tumor resection. A large-scale prospective study is warranted to evaluate the clinical benefit of this modality.