At the bench: Engineering the next generation of cancer vaccines.

At the bench: Engineering the next generation of cancer vaccines. J Leukoc Biol. 2019 Aug 20;: Authors: Shae D, Baljon JJ, Wehbe M, Becker KW, Sheehy TL, Wilson JT Abstract Cancer vaccines hold promise as an immunotherapeutic modality based on their potential to generate tumor antigen-specific T cell responses and long-lived antitumor responses capable of combating metastatic disease and recurrence. However, cancer vaccines have historically failed to deliver significant therapeutic benefit in the clinic, which we maintain is due in part to drug delivery challenges that have limited vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy. In this review, we examine some of the known and putative failure mechanisms of common first-generation clinical cancer vaccines, and describe how the rational design of materials engineered for vaccine delivery and immunomodulation can address these shortcomings. First, we outline vaccine design principles for augmenting cellular immunity to tumor antigens and describe how well-engineered materials can improve vaccine efficacy, highlighting recent innovations in vaccine delivery technology that are primed for integration into neoantigen vaccine development pipelines. We also discuss the importance of sequencing, timing, and kinetics in mounting effective immune responses to cancer vaccines, and highlight examples of materials that potentiate antitumor immunity through spatiotemporal control of immunomodulation. Furthe...
Source: Journal of Leukocyte Biology - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: J Leukoc Biol Source Type: research