This proposal is directly relevant to the treatment of prostate cancer. There is currently no accepted treatment for prostate cancer that has been shown to reduce the likelihood of its recurring after surgery (prostatectomy) or ablative radiation treatment. We are interested in developing prostate cancer vaccines, ideally to treat patients after initial surgery or radiation to help prevent the cancer from recurring. This proposal will evaluate one candidate protein, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), as a potential vaccine "antigen." We will study whether patients with prostate cancer already have an immune response to PAP, and whether immune cells recognizing PAP can be grown from patients blood that can kill prostate cancer cells. Proving that immune "T" cells can kill prostate cancer cells, and finding better ways to count these immune cells, will be necessary for future clinical |
