The feasibility of using short-term cultures of ovarian cancer cells for use as autologous tumor cell vaccines as adjuvant treatment of advanced ovarian cancer

Objective: We have tried to establish short-term cultures of autologous tumors from patients with stage III and IV ovarian cancer which could be used as active specific immunotherapy, (i.e., autologous vaccine) in such patients after debulking surgery & combination chemotherapy. Methods: Between 5/93 and 11/97 the Hoag cell biology laboratory received 53 ovarian tumor samples that had been surgically excised at the time of laparotomy, and four samples of malignant ascites. Efforts were made to establish short-term tumor cell cultures as confirmed by morphology & phenotype. Results: Short-term proliferating cultures were successfully established from 21/57 samples [37%] which included 8/24 [33%] successes fi om samples obtained at diagnosis compared to 13/33 [37%] samples obtained at the time of a relapse [p = 0.45]. The probability of successful culture was not related to tumor size for samples with a range of 0.8-34 g (mean 5.8 g). One patient was treated in the setting of metastatic disease and one in the adjuvant setting, both received repeated injections of irradiated autologous tumor cells plus granulocyte macrophage stimulating factor (GM-CSF). In one patient a delayed tumor hypersensitivity skin test converted fi om negative to positive. Conclusions: Short-term cultures of autologous tumor cells for use as tumor cell vaccines can be established for about one-third of patients with ovarian cancer using this methodology and the treatment approach is feasible.