The purpose of this study is to determine if an immune modifying drug (Ontak) alone or as
part of a vaccine therapy will produce remissions in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
This research is being done because we want to find new therapies for treatment of relapsed
or refractory (resistant to ordinary treatment) ovarian cancer. The use of ONTAK and vaccine
therapy is research.
A new experimental approach for treating refractory or relapsed ovarian cancer involves
using the patients own immune system to kill the cancer cells. These immune cells are called
monocytes and are harvested from blood. The process of Leukapheresis collects the monocytes
called Dendritic Cells. This is usually a 3 hour process done in the comfort of a hospital
bed in the apheresis lab, similar to giving blood for donation. Approximately 300cc's are
collected during this process, the equivalent of about 10 ounces of blood. Once these
dendritic cells are collected - a special laboratory grows and processes them into a vaccine
using a patient's own tumor cells. This preparation is then given back to the patient
hopefully to stimulate the immune system to kill cancer cells. This type of treatment is
considered biological research.
This study also involves a drug called ONTAK, which is made using certain proteins from
diphtheria toxins and interleukin-2 (chemotherapy drug). This drug will act on immune
suppressing cells normally present in your body making vaccine therapy possibly less
effective. Ontak helps set up your immune system to be boosted by the vaccine injections.
The use of Ontak followed by the vaccine to stimulate your tumor killing immune cells has
not been done in ovarian cancer before and is research.