Definition

A vaccine consisting of lethally irradiated human fetal lung fibroblasts (Medical Research Council 5 or MRC-5) transfected with autologous tumor DNA derived from a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), with potential immunostimulatory and antineoplastic activities. Upon intradermal administration, the autologous HNSCC DNA-transfected semi-allogeneic fibroblasts MRC-5 vaccine expresses HNSCC tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which may activate the immune system to induce a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against HNSCC cells. The MRC-5 cell line, established in 1966, is a human diploid lung fibroblast cell line derived from the human lung tissue of a 14-week-old male fetus.