| Dendritic cells (DCs) are considered as professional antigen presenting cells (APCs), containing
a variety of subsets, that can be resident in organs or migrating among the lymphoid and nonlymphoid
organs. In a normal steady condition, DCs concomitantly process and present antigens
on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II. However, they are further activated
after exposing to antigens. Recently, several approaches have been exerted to improve antigen
presentation potency, to elicit powerful immune responses against tumor cells. In DC-based
cancer immunotherapy, DC is obtained from patient and modulated ex vivo in order to entice the
immune system toward tumor elimination. Several approaches have been on the evaluation for
long-term anti-tumor immune responses by DCs. On the other side, combination of DC vaccines
with other cancer therapies, like chemotherapy and monoclonal antibodies could confer efficient
cancer therapeutics. In this review article, we first go through the immunobiology of DC, and
development of DC vaccines. Then, we concentrate on the DC immunotherap y by highlighting
combinational approaches to enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment strategies. |