Backgrounds: Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological disease. High-dose chemotherapy including autologous stem cell transplantation is recently considered a standard therapy for myeloma. Unfortunately, a relapse of the disease is inevitable. Therefore, new approaches such as immunotherapy have been considered recently. A specific activation of cytotoxic T cells can be reached using dendritic cells loaded with tumor-specific antigen. Catalytic subunit of telomerase hTERT and an HLA-A2-specific nonapeptide derived from hTERT can be used. Design and subjects: Activation and identification of myeloma-specific T cells from healthy HLA-A2 blood donors has been tested in an in vitro study using hTERT-derived nonapeptide as a tumor-specific antigen. Methods and results: T cells and dendritic cells were obtained from peripheral blood. T cells were repeatedly stimulated with hTERT nonapeptide- loaded dendritic cells. Activated myeloma-specific T cells produced interferon gamma and were evaluated by flow cytometry. Conclusion: This study demonstrates feasibility of an in vitro identification of tumor-specific T cells that can be used in myeloma therapy.

        Key words: Multiple myeloma, immunotherapy, interferon gamma, catalytic subunit of telomerase