This trial evaluates the feasibility of formulating a novel vaccine to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses and provide therapeutic benefit for patients with B cell malignancies who have completed high dose therapy with stem cell rescue. The monthly vaccines consists of two treatments with autologous peripheral blood dendritic cells (professional antigen presenting cells) collected by apheresis, pulsed with individualized tumor idiotype as target and reinfused, followed by five doses of idiotype coupled to KLH in an ISAF adjuvant injected subcutaneously. Four patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 26 patients with multiple myeloma have completed the vaccination course. An additional seven patients are in the process of being vaccinated and several more are scheduled to start soon. The dendritic cell collections have been adequate and the reinfusions have been very well tolerated with next to no toxicity. Three of the lymphoma patients developed humoral and/or cellular proliferative responses after vaccination. Three of the 26 myeloma patients developed cellular proliferative responses after vaccination; such responses were strikingly correlated with attainment of a complete tumor response following high dose therapy and stem cell transplant. Evaluation of the possiblity of using these immune approaches in the allotransplant setting is in place.
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