This invention comprises cellular vaccines and methods of using them in
cancer immunotherapy, particularly in humans. The vaccines comprise a
source of tumor-associated antigen, and a cytokine-secreting cell line.
Tumor antigen may be provided in the form of primary tumor cells, tumor
cell lines or tumor extracts prepared from the subject. In certain
embodiments of the invention, the cytokine-secreting line is a separate
tumor line that is allogeneic to the patient and genetically altered so
as to produce a cytokine at an elevated level. Exemplary cytokines are
IL-4, GM-CSF, IL-2, TNF-.alpha., and M-CSF in the secreted or
membrane-bound form. In these embodiments, the cytokine-producing cells
provide immunostimulation in trans to generate a specific immune response
against the tumor antigen. Vaccines may be tailored for each type of
cancer or for each subject by mixing tumor antigen with a favorable
number of cytokine-producing cells, or with a cocktail of such cells
producing a plurality of cytokines at a favorable ratio.