A Comprehensive Review on Cancer Vaccines and Vaccine Strategies in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

HCC, the most prevalent form of primary liver cancer, presents a substantial global health challenge due to its high mortality and limited therapeutic options. This review delves into the potential of cancer vaccines as a novel therapeutic avenue for HCC. We examine the various categories of cancer vaccines, including peptide-based, dendritic cell-based, viral vector-based, DNA, and mRNA vaccines, and their potential application in HCC management. This review also addresses the inherent challenges in vaccine development, such as tumor heterogeneity and the need for identifying tumor-specific antigens. We underscore the role of cancer vaccines in reshaping the immune environment within HCC, fostering durable immune memory, and their potential in combination therapies. The review also evaluates clinical trials and emphasizes the necessity for more extensive research to optimize vaccine design and patient selection criteria. We conclude with future perspectives, highlighting the significance of personalized therapies, innovative antigen delivery platforms, immune modulatory agents, and predictive biomarkers in revolutionizing HCC treatment. Simple Summary: This review explores the potential of cancer vaccines as a promising therapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a prevalent and deadly liver cancer. The authors discuss various types of cancer vaccines, their challenges, and their role in modulating the immune response within HCC. They also highlight clinical trials and future perspectives, emphasizing the importance of personalized therapies, novel antigen delivery platforms, and predictive biomarkers. The findings from this research could significantly impact the research community by providing a comprehensive understanding of the current state of cancer vaccines for HCC, thereby guiding future research and potentially transforming HCC treatment strategies.

Recent Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy with a Focus on FDA-Approved Vaccines and Neoantigen-Based Vaccines

“…mRNA-and peptide-based cancer vaccines constitute the major forms of design to produce vaccines useful for cancer immunotherapies [28,29], and several clinical trials have been conducted with such formulations [30][31][32]. These clinical trials are classified as mRNAor peptide-based vaccinations.…”

Oral Administration of Cancer Vaccines: Challenges and Future Perspectives

“…Although oral vaccines can induce various types of immunogenicity that may lead to effective cancer therapy, the main criticism of oral cancer vaccines is their lower degree of immunogenicity than parenteral vaccines [ 93 ]. This could lead to the need to administer a higher dose of antigen compared to parenteral immunization, an aspect that increases the risk of tolerance [ 18 ]. Strategies have been developed to improve the immunogenicity of vaccines, including the use of adjuvants, or the modification of amino acid sequences to improve TAA to increase their affinity to HLA molecules [ 94 ].…”

Liposomes, transfersomes and niosomes: production methods and their applications in the vaccinal field

“…Vaccines are now sparking more interest, and new types and strategies of vaccines are going to be developed and used for different medical issues, such as autoimmune disorders and certain types of cancer [ 3 ].…”