Ricerc@Sapienza

The immune system is known to play a pivotal role in cancer pathogenesis.
In a dynamic balance between immune system and cancer cells, the first one recognizes
the second as non-self and effectively clears them from the system. This phenomenon,
called immune surveillance, is based on the interaction between antigen
presenting cells and T lymphocytes that get activated eliciting a specific and enduring
response. In certain circumstances, tumor cells are able to evade this mechanism
allowing the tumor to develop. This mechanism is called tumor escape.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the only antigen-presenting cells able to prime naïve T cells and
cross-prime antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Their functionality is a requirement for the
induction and maintenance of long-lasting cancer immunity. Albeit intensively investigated,
the in vivo mechanisms underlying efficient antigen cross-processing and presentation
are not fully understood. Several pieces of evidence indicate that antigen transfer to DCs
mediated by microvesicles (MVs) enhances antigen immunogenicity. This mechanism

Treatments for gynecological cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, overall survival is not improved, and novel approaches are needed. Immunotherapy has been proven efficacious in various types of cancers and multiple approaches have been recently developed. Since numerous gynecological cancers are associated to human papilloma virus (HPV) infections, therapeutic vaccines, targeting HPV epitopes, have been developed.