Local administration of granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor increases the number and activation state of dendritic cells in the sentinel lymph node of early-stage melanoma.

The initial tumor-draining lymph node, the sentinel lymph node, not only constitutes the first expected site of micrometastasis but also the first point of contact between tumor-associated antigens and the adaptive immune system. A tumor-induced decrease in the frequency and activation state of sentinel lymph node dendritic cells will impair the generation of effective antitumor T-cell responses and increase the likelihood of metastatic spread. Here, we demonstrate that intradermal administration of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor around the excision site of stage I primary melanoma tumors increases the number and activation state of dendritic cells in the paracortical areas of the sentinel lymph node and enhances their binding to T cells. We conclude that local treatment of melanoma patients with granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, before surgery, conditions the sentinel lymph node microenvironment to enhance mature dendritic cell recruitment and hypothesize that this may be more conducive to the generation of T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity.