The major goal of this project has been to undertake a critical evaluation of the immunogenic potential of synthetic peptide or melanoma cell lysate loaded APC. Thirty patients have thus far been treated. There has been no reportable toxicity and no therapy-related deaths. Clinical and immunologic evaluations suggest that the approach is clearly feasible and that the vaccines have biological activities. The grant has been renewed by the NIH. This renewal also has a clinical trial component with a revised protocol. As such, the basic work will be continued. We plan to enter approximately 18-24 patients over the next three years. Our major scientific finding is that the vaccine is capable of inducing a CD8+ CTL type response, in situ, at the vaccine site, at tumor deposits, and in the circulation.
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