Peptide vaccine therapy for leukemia

Despite recent advances in the treatment of leukemia, many patients will relapse and novel therapeutic strategies are therefore needed. The identification of a number of leukemia-associated antigen (LAA) and advances in understanding the fundamentals of tumor immunology have fostered the progress of both active (vaccines) and adoptive immunotherapy. Preliminary results from a number of studies suggest that vaccination using peptides derived from a number of LAA induce immune responses which may translate into clinical responses.These promising early results point the way to optimizing the administration of peptide vaccines. In this review, we will focus on the results of clinical trials of vaccination in leukemia and potential strategies to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in the future.