Is PD-L1 a natural immune component?
Some or all cancerous tumors produce chemistries that block/suppress the immune system. There is a lot of work being done in developing antibodies to block the blocking chemistries.
If the blocking chemistries are unnatural, then DCVax-L (and the subsequent avalanche of immune response) probably generates antibodies against these blocking chemistries already.
If the blocking chemistries are natural, however, this would be something that DCVax-L can't deal with. In that case, however well DCVax-L works, (and it appears to work very well) it might work even better if some of these antibodies were added.
How could the blocking chemistries be natural? They could be components that exist in small concentrations in the normal immune system. Such a feedback system could have suppression components as part of negative feedback. If the tumor generates these components in large quantities, then it could overwhelm and imbalance the immune system, forcing suppression.
Most likely these blocking chemistries are un-natural, and thus the immune system can fight them. However, likely they normally hide inside the tumor. If so DCVax-L process would expose them and allow a strong immune response against them. This would be true for many such blocking chemistries, discovered or undiscovered.
This is something that a limited antigen approach like IMUC's ICT-107 can not do. Thus to compare ICT-107 to DCVax-L would be dishonest/evil/libelous.
That is... if these blocking components are not natural. Not to say this is the only advantage that DCVax-L would have on ICT-107, but it would be a very large advantage and somewhat distinct from the advantages normally discussed.
