Peptide Vaccines in Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

Traditional cancer treatment is based on surgery, supplemented by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In recent years, new treatment options, such as targeted therapy, have gradually entered the clinic. However, for some patients who are inoperable or have metastasized, there are currently no sufficiently effective therapies to support long-term survival. Peptide vaccines are autoimmune system-based therapies that typically target the uptake of tumor antigens by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Current clinical trials of peptide vaccines primarily target tumor-associated or tumor-specific antigens (TAAs or TSAs) and can be classified into two types: synthetic peptide vaccines and peptide vaccines derived from whole tumor cells. Although the peptide vaccines that have been reported are promising, the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a significant obstacle to the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Using peptide vaccines as a future treatment for inoperable tumors, surgical follow-up, and as a complement to other treatments such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy is a possibility. This study aims to examine the various types and clinical applications of peptide-based therapeutic vaccines, which may offer significant insights into the current and future development of these vaccines.