Immunomodulatory drugs improve the immune environment for dendritic cell-based immunotherapy in multiple myeloma patients after autologous stem cell transplantation.

ABSTRACT: Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by a malignant proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow with associated organ damage. Although the prognosis of MM has improved recently, the disease remains incurable for the large majority of patients. The eradication of residual disease in the bone marrow is a main target on the road toward cure. Immune cells play a role in the control of cancer and can be tools to attack residual MM cells. However, the myeloma-associated immune deficiency is a major hurdle to immunotherapy. We evaluated ex vivo the effects of low doses of the immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) lenalidomide and pomalidomide on several immune cell types from MM patients after autologous stem cell transplantation and with low tumor burden. We observed that these drugs increased C

SUBMITTER: De Keersmaecker B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11028612 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature