Dendritic cells are specialized white blood cells that initiate and direct the immune response. They circulate in small numbers in blood. Our basic science program has developed new blood dendritic cell counting technology and methods to collect these cells from patients. We now plan to optimize the techniques for clinical use in multiple myeloma patients and to test them for safety and efficacy. We anticipate that application for this new technology will create a platform for large collaborative studies to optimize dendritic cell vaccination protocols, which harness the immune response to treat multiple myeloma.