Navigating the future: An updated review and prospects for breast cancer vaccines

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death globally, especially among women. Despite advancements in cancer immunotherapy, breast cancer remains lagging in clinical success compared to vaccines for other cancers. Development of breast cancer vaccine is challenged by several factors including the complexity of heterogeneity of breast cancer subtypes, poor immunogenicity and immune evasion mechanism by cancer cells. The efficiency of cancer vaccine delivery is also suboptimal due to antigen degradation, poor uptake by antigen-presenting cells and inefficient penetration into the TME. In recent years, nanotechnology-based cancer vaccines have emerged as an effective approach to improve the efficacy of breast cancer vaccines. However, their clinical translation also remains a challenge until now. This review provides a comprehensive overview of factors that have challenged the development of breast cancer vaccines and the potential of nanotechnology-based formulations. Additionally, this review also highlights the key challenges hindering nanotechnology-based translation into clinical success, including unstable drug delivery, cancer metastasis and heterogeneity. By addressing these issues, nanotechnology-based vaccines could pave the way for more effective immunotherapy strategies in breast cancer treatment.