Recurrent ovarian cancer has a dismal prognosis and there is a pressing need to identify more efficient therapies. Ovarian cancer is highly immunogenic and good survival is tightly linked to the presence of tumor-infiltrating T cells and the absence of immunosuppressive immune cells. This anti-tumor immune response might be primed by chemotherapy.
Gemcitabine has immune-modulatory properties in addition to its direct cytotoxic effect in platinum resistant ovarian cancer. Additionally, Peg-Intron allows the full maturation of dendritic cells, thereby enhancing the anti-tumor response. Moreover, the tumor-associated self-antigen p53 is commonly over-expressed in ovarian cancer and can serve as a target for immunotherapy. Therefore, chemo-immunotherapy with gemcitabine and Peg-Intron plus/minus p53 SLP vaccination seems an attractive treatment for recurrent, p53+ ovarian cancer patients.
