Question 1

What is a dendritic-cell vaccine?

Accepted Answer

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells of the immune system, responsible for teaching cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) how to identify cancer. In DC-vaccine therapy, dendritic cells are isolated from the patient's blood (they account for only 0.1-0.5% of white blood cells), loaded with tumor antigens in vitro, and then reinfused. The dendritic cells present the cancer's features to T cells and launch antigen-specific attacks — a single dendritic cell can prime hundreds to thousands of T cells, making the therapy highly efficient.

Question 2

What makes ABeVax® unique?

Accepted Answer

ABeVax® (Anticancer Binary Epitope Vaccine) is a 5th-generation multivalent dendritic-cell vaccine developed under the leadership of Dr. Hiroyuki Abe at Tokyo Cancer Clinic (formerly ABE Oncology Clinic), patented in both Japan and the United States. It combines four or more potent overlapping long-chain peptides (WT1, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A3 and others at 13 amino acids) that drive both MHC class I and class II presentation. Crucially, no HLA matching is required, so the vaccine can be used across cancer types — a major leap beyond conventional DC therapies.

Question 3

Why is only 25 ml of blood needed?

Accepted Answer

Conventional DC therapy relies on apheresis, which takes 2-3 hours to circulate about 5,000 ml of blood extracorporeally to extract monocytes — a heavy burden on the patient. Without apheresis, 60-80 ml of blood is typically needed to obtain enough monocytes. Thanks to its proprietary Japan/US-patented technology, Tokyo Cancer Clinic can produce a DC vaccine from just 25 ml of blood (at least 1 × 10⁷ viable cells per dose, viability above 97%), significantly reducing patient burden and the infection risks associated with repeated apheresis.

Question 4

How is RISO Clinic's "fusion dendritic-cell vaccine" different?

Accepted Answer

RISO Clinic's NEW CELL Dendritic Cell vaccine uses two preparation routes: (1) co-culturing the patient's own cancer cells with dendritic cells so that the resulting fusion cells carry nearly the full spectrum of tumor antigens; (2) extracting DNA/RNA information from a tumor biopsy and combining it with the patient's skin tissue to build a customized antigen. Compared with standard antigen loading, fusion cells deliver a far more comprehensive attack signal to CTLs, allowing recognition even when cancer cells mutate or mask certain antigens.

Question 5

Is combining DC vaccines with chemotherapy effective?

Accepted Answer

It may be combined with other oncology treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immune-checkpoint inhibitors or NK-cell therapy depending on the case. Tokyo Cancer Clinic and Fukuoka Cancer General Clinic design combination plans based on each patient; suitability, risks and timing require physician evaluation.

Question 6

What is Dr. Hiroyuki Abe's background?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Hiroyuki Abe graduated from Sapporo Medical University in 1964, completed his residency at Keio University Hospital and then studied in the United States. He served as a lecturer at Juntendo University and assistant professor at Nihon University, and held visiting professorships at Stanford University, the University of California and Kyorin University. In 1988 he founded the Hakushin-Koseikai Medical Corporation and became honorary director of Kudan Clinic. In 2002 he received an award from a U.S. life-sciences institute for major contributions to cancer treatment and prevention, followed in 2013 by recognition for popularizing orthomolecular cellular medicine. He holds multiple patents in immune-cell therapy across Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the United States.

Dendritic Cell Vaccine

The "Teacher Cells" of the Immune System

Antigen Presentation

T-Cell Activation

Deployment

Precise Elimination

Four Technological Breakthroughs of ABeVax®

13-Amino-Acid Long-Chain Peptides

No HLA Matching Required

Multivalent Tumor-Marker Recognition

Over 97% Viable-Cell Rate

Four Partner Centers in Japan

Tokyo Cancer Clinic (formerly ABE Oncology Clinic)

Fukuoka Cancer General Clinic

HASUMI Immunotherapy Clinic

RISO Clinic

Four common concerns — and honest answers

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