Strategies in cancer vaccines development

The recent definition of tumour-specific immunity in cancer patients and the identification of tumour-associated antigens have generated renewed enthusiasm for the application of immune-based therapies for the treatment of malignancies. Recent developments in cancer vaccines have also been based on an improved understanding of the cellular interactions required to induce a specific anti-tumour immune response. Consequently, a number of cancer vaccines have entered clinical trials. Targeting broad-spectrum tumour-associated antigens has emerged as a strategy to lower the risk of tumour escape due to the loss of specific nominal antigen. Amongst the most challenging of tumour-associated antigens to which to target in active specific immunotherapy applications are carbohydrate antigens. As carbohydrates are intrinsically T-cell-independent antigens, more novel approaches are perhaps needed to drive specific-T-cell-dependent immune responses to carbohydrate antigens. In this context peptide mimetics of core structures of tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens might be developed to augment immune responses to these broad-spectrum antigens.