Special Issue Information

Therapeutic cancer vaccination has been explored for over 30 years, yet it has not achieved sufficient success to establish itself as a cornerstone of cancer immunotherapy alongside approved strategies such as checkpoint inhibition, adoptive T cell transfer, and CAR T cell therapy.

This Special Issue aims to investigate how cancer vaccination can be advanced into an efficient and cost-effective treatment option. Several key challenges remain, including the selection of appropriate target antigens, the induction of robust T cell responses, the effective trafficking of these T cells to tumors, and overcoming tumor immune evasion. Additionally, integrating vaccination with existing cancer therapies presents another crucial consideration.

One fundamental question revolves around target antigen selection—should non-mutated antigens be considered? Should antigen selection be personalized? Or would a combination of multiple antigens per tumor type be sufficient? The strength of the induced T cell response is inherently linked to the vaccine formulation, whether it involves mRNA, viral or bacterial vectors, proteins, or peptides, often in combination with an adjuvant.

Assessing vaccination success requires monitoring immune responses in circulating T cells, but equally important is tracking their migration into tumor sites. Both natural and artificial intelligence will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in addressing the remaining challenges in cancer vaccination.

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