Work

Cancer vaccines: current status and future directions

Year: 2025

Type: review

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.

Source: Journal of Hematology & Oncology

DOI: 10.1186/s13045-025-01670-w

Authors: Yingqiong Zhou, Yuquan Wei, Xiaohe Tian, Xiawei Wei

Institutions: Sichuan University, West China Medical Center of Sichuan University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy

Language: English

Topic: Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

Subfield: Immunology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,990