Comparison of Current Immunotherapy Approaches and Novel Anti-Cancer Vaccine Modalities for Clinical Application

Abstract

Despite improved diagnostic and treatment protocols, cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. There are increasing rates of certain cancer types, including the highly drug-resistant colorectal cancer, in younger population cohorts. Therapeutic advances in oncology have led to the application of immunotherapy-based agents, including checkpoint inhibitors, antibodies, and adoptive cell therapies. Such immunotherapy approaches are greatly hindered by the tumour microenvironment and lack of specificity. Therapeutic vaccines are an innovative and rapidly advancing area of oncology, having potential for application as mono- and combined therapy in clinical settings, offering long term efficacy against disease recurrence. Advances in vaccine production using gene editing and bioprocessing techniques allows for novel vaccine types, including protein-based subunit vaccines, virus-like particle vaccines, and viral vector- and nucleic acid-based (RNA and DNA) vaccines. Cancer vaccines are designed to deliver specific tumour antigens, which activate anti-cancer cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells to produce immune memory, providing long term anti-cancer action. When coupled with advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, anti-cancer vaccines may revolutionise oncology protocols and improve patient prognosis. This review aims to discuss current immunotherapy options in cancer treatment and recent advances in anti-cancer vaccine modalities.