VACCINATION IN COMBINATION WITH IMATINIB MESYLATE FOR CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Description of Project for Release to Public- 03-08-12-05 CML is thought to an immunologically responsive disease based on the ability to cure the disease with allogeneic T cells as well as the demonstration of host immune responses to CML-associated antigens in patients who have responded to interferon-alpha. The dramatic clinical responses obtained with the selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib Mesylate has provided a relatively non-toxic cytoreductive therapy, although complete molecular remissions remain rare. In this study, we are vaccinating CML patients who are in a complete hematologic remission, but have persistent cytogeneic or molecular evidence of disease, with a novel allogeneic tumor cell-based vaccine that expresses many of the antigens shown to be present in CML cells and to which T cell responses have been demonstrated. The vaccine is administered in conjunction with a topical agonist to Toll Like Receptor 9 (imiquimod). The two major objectives of this study will be to demonstrate the ability to generate and augment CML specific T cell responses in patients vaccinated while in remission on imatinib, and to test the hypothesis that such responses will lead to a measurable reduction in tumor burden (or its elimination) as assayed by quantitative RT-PCR of bcr/abl transcripts.