Biomarkers for the development of cancer vaccines: current status

Significant improvements in our knowledge of tumor immunology have resulted in more sophisticated vaccine approaches for the treatment of cancer. However, research into biomarkers that correlate with the clinical outcome of immunotherapy has lagged behind vaccine development. To this extent, very few immunological or other markers exist that can be used in clinical trials for immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the current status of biomarker development specifically for the monitoring and development of cancer vaccines. This includes immunological biomarkers (measurement of T-cell and cytokine responses), autoimmunity as a correlate for treatment outcome, and the possible development of multiple biomarkers using high-throughput proteomics technologies. The generation of such biomarkers will allow us to make clinical decisions about patient treatment at an earlier stage and should aid in shortening the development time for vaccines.