Described herein are compositions and methods for treating a disease, particularly a cancer, with primed dendritic cells recognizing a tumor antigen. The methods may comprise storing, shipping and/or culturing dendritic cells, where the dendritic cells are stored on a hard surface. Lysis protocols are described where the lysis does not result in complete lysis of cells in order to provide cell surface molecules maintained in a cell surface-embedded state. Non-lethal Dengue virus strains are also provided for therapeutic purposes.