Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions

Abstract Cancer continues to be a major global health burden, with high morbidity and mortality. Building on the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cellular therapy, cancer vaccines have garnered significant interest, but their clinical success remains modest. Benefiting from advan...

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Main Authors: Yingqiong Zhou, Yuquan Wei, Xiaohe Tian, Xiawei Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of Hematology & Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-025-01670-w
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author Yingqiong Zhou
Yuquan Wei
Xiaohe Tian
Xiawei Wei
author_facet Yingqiong Zhou
Yuquan Wei
Xiaohe Tian
Xiawei Wei
author_sort Yingqiong Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Cancer continues to be a major global health burden, with high morbidity and mortality. Building on the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cellular therapy, cancer vaccines have garnered significant interest, but their clinical success remains modest. Benefiting from advancements in technology, many meticulously designed cancer vaccines have shown promise, warranting further investigations to reach their full potential. Cancer vaccines hold unique benefits, particularly for patients resistant to other therapies, and they offer the ability to initiate broad and durable T cell responses. In this review, we highlight the antigen selection for cancer vaccines, introduce the immune responses induced by vaccines, and propose strategies to enhance vaccine immunogenicity. Furthermore, we summarize key features and notable clinical advances of various vaccine platforms. Lastly, we delve into the mechanisms of tumor resistance and explore the potential benefits of combining cancer vaccines with standard treatments and other immunomodulatory approaches to improve vaccine efficacy.
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issn 1756-8722
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publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Journal of Hematology & Oncology
spelling doaj-art-2b8bdff61d24439cab0941ed06c330722025-08-20T03:13:14ZengBMCJournal of Hematology & Oncology1756-87222025-02-0118113010.1186/s13045-025-01670-wCancer vaccines: current status and future directionsYingqiong Zhou0Yuquan Wei1Xiaohe Tian2Xiawei Wei3Laboratory of Aging Research and Cancer Drug Target, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityLaboratory of Aging Research and Cancer Drug Target, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityLaboratory of Aging Research and Cancer Drug Target, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityLaboratory of Aging Research and Cancer Drug Target, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityAbstract Cancer continues to be a major global health burden, with high morbidity and mortality. Building on the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cellular therapy, cancer vaccines have garnered significant interest, but their clinical success remains modest. Benefiting from advancements in technology, many meticulously designed cancer vaccines have shown promise, warranting further investigations to reach their full potential. Cancer vaccines hold unique benefits, particularly for patients resistant to other therapies, and they offer the ability to initiate broad and durable T cell responses. In this review, we highlight the antigen selection for cancer vaccines, introduce the immune responses induced by vaccines, and propose strategies to enhance vaccine immunogenicity. Furthermore, we summarize key features and notable clinical advances of various vaccine platforms. Lastly, we delve into the mechanisms of tumor resistance and explore the potential benefits of combining cancer vaccines with standard treatments and other immunomodulatory approaches to improve vaccine efficacy.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-025-01670-wCancer vaccineTumor antigenClinical outcomeTumor resistanceCombination therapy
spellingShingle Yingqiong Zhou
Yuquan Wei
Xiaohe Tian
Xiawei Wei
Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
Journal of Hematology & Oncology
Cancer vaccine
Tumor antigen
Clinical outcome
Tumor resistance
Combination therapy
title Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
title_full Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
title_fullStr Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
title_full_unstemmed Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
title_short Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions
title_sort cancer vaccines current status and future directions
topic Cancer vaccine
Tumor antigen
Clinical outcome
Tumor resistance
Combination therapy
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-025-01670-w
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AT xiaweiwei cancervaccinescurrentstatusandfuturedirections