Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines and Immune Responses

Therapeutic cancer vaccines aim to stimulate or restore the immune system’s capacity to recognise and eradicate malignant cells by presenting tumour-associated or tumour-specific antigens in a manner that elicits potent cellular immunity. Unlike prophylactic vaccines, which prevent infection, these interventions target established tumours and residual disease. Platforms include peptide-based constructs, dendritic cell vaccines, viral vectors, nucleic acid approaches and whole-cell preparations. Central to their success is the induction of robust CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, supported by CD4+ helper T cells, and the modulation of the tumour microenvironment to overcome immunosuppressive barriers. Adjuvants and delivery systems enhance antigen presentation and promote dendritic cell maturation, while combination strategies with immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy or radiotherapy seek to amplify efficacy. Personalised vaccines, particularly those based on neoantigens derived from individual tumour mutations, have demonstrated promising immunogenicity, heralding a new era of precision immunotherapy. Early-phase clinical trials across diverse malignancies have confirmed safety and immunogenicity, though durable clinical benefit remains an ongoing challenge. Continued innovation in target selection, vaccine formulation and rational combinations is driving the field towards improved outcomes and wider applicability.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines and Immune Responses publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in therapeutic cancer vaccines and immune responses across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Adjuvant: A substance that enhances the immune response to a vaccine antigen by stimulating innate immune pathways.

Dendritic cell: Professional antigen-presenting cell that processes and presents antigens to T lymphocytes, initiating adaptive immune responses.

Neoantigen: Tumour-specific antigen arising from somatic mutations, uniquely expressed by cancer cells and recognised as foreign by the immune system.

Peptide-based vaccine: Vaccine comprising synthetic peptides representing tumour antigens, designed to elicit antigen-specific T-cell responses.

Tumour microenvironment: The complex milieu of cancer cells, stromal cells and immune cells within a tumour, which can modulate immune activity and therapeutic response.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor: Monoclonal antibody that blocks regulatory pathways in T cells (such as PD-1/PD-L1 or CTLA-4), enhancing antitumour immunity.

References

1. Dual Adjuvant‐Loaded Peptide Antigen Self‐Assembly Potentiates Dendritic Cell‐Mediated Tumor Immunotherapy. Advanced Science (2024).
2. Turning the corner on therapeutic cancer vaccines. npj Vaccines (2019).
3. Cancer Vaccines: Toward the Next Breakthrough in Cancer Immunotherapy. Journal of Immunology Research (2020).
4. Beyond Just Peptide Antigens: The Complex World of Peptide-Based Cancer Vaccines. Frontiers in Immunology (2021).