Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy

Abstract Neoantigens, which are tumor-specific peptides generated by malignant cells, can be presented to T cells to elicit immune responses. Owing to their tumor-specific properties, neoantigens have emerged as one of the most promising biomarkers and targets for cancer immunotherapy. Previous stud...

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Main Authors: Zhenchang Wang, Yu Gu, Xiao Sun, Hao Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:Biomarker Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00808-9
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author Zhenchang Wang
Yu Gu
Xiao Sun
Hao Huang
author_facet Zhenchang Wang
Yu Gu
Xiao Sun
Hao Huang
author_sort Zhenchang Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Neoantigens, which are tumor-specific peptides generated by malignant cells, can be presented to T cells to elicit immune responses. Owing to their tumor-specific properties, neoantigens have emerged as one of the most promising biomarkers and targets for cancer immunotherapy. Previous studies have demonstrated their capacity to mediate tumor-specific immune responses in targeting and eliminating tumor cells while preserving normal cellular function. Driven by advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies, mass spectrometry, and artificial intelligence, researchers have developed a growing interest in establishing more accurate neoantigen prediction algorithms. Here, we presented a comprehensive review of integrated neoantigen prediction algorithms, encompassing task definition, theoretical developments, benchmark datasets, cutting-edge applications, and future research directions. We systematically evaluated recent advancements in neoantigen source characterization and prediction algorithms, with particular emphasis on innovative methods for HLA-peptide binding and TCR recognition developed. Additionally, we explored the cutting-edge applications of neoantigens in personalized cancer vaccine design and adoptive cell therapies. We delineated potential research directions and the future prospects for neoantigen-based therapies, including integrating multi-omics data to discover universal neoantigens, addressing algorithmic generalization challenges and diversifying neoantigen validation methods.
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spelling doaj-art-7ccc1bb9898348eebe68d3ef5ee2c9942025-08-20T04:02:54ZengBMCBiomarker Research2050-77712025-07-0113112010.1186/s40364-025-00808-9Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapyZhenchang Wang0Yu Gu1Xiao Sun2Hao Huang3Institute of Microphysiological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversityInstitute of Microphysiological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversityInstitute of Microphysiological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversityInstitute of Microphysiological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast UniversityAbstract Neoantigens, which are tumor-specific peptides generated by malignant cells, can be presented to T cells to elicit immune responses. Owing to their tumor-specific properties, neoantigens have emerged as one of the most promising biomarkers and targets for cancer immunotherapy. Previous studies have demonstrated their capacity to mediate tumor-specific immune responses in targeting and eliminating tumor cells while preserving normal cellular function. Driven by advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies, mass spectrometry, and artificial intelligence, researchers have developed a growing interest in establishing more accurate neoantigen prediction algorithms. Here, we presented a comprehensive review of integrated neoantigen prediction algorithms, encompassing task definition, theoretical developments, benchmark datasets, cutting-edge applications, and future research directions. We systematically evaluated recent advancements in neoantigen source characterization and prediction algorithms, with particular emphasis on innovative methods for HLA-peptide binding and TCR recognition developed. Additionally, we explored the cutting-edge applications of neoantigens in personalized cancer vaccine design and adoptive cell therapies. We delineated potential research directions and the future prospects for neoantigen-based therapies, including integrating multi-omics data to discover universal neoantigens, addressing algorithmic generalization challenges and diversifying neoantigen validation methods.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00808-9Neoantigen discoveryCancer immunotherapyArtificial intelligence
spellingShingle Zhenchang Wang
Yu Gu
Xiao Sun
Hao Huang
Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
Biomarker Research
Neoantigen discovery
Cancer immunotherapy
Artificial intelligence
title Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
title_full Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
title_fullStr Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
title_short Computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
title_sort computation strategies and clinical applications in neoantigen discovery towards precision cancer immunotherapy
topic Neoantigen discovery
Cancer immunotherapy
Artificial intelligence
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-025-00808-9
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