Therapeutic vaccines targeting solid tumors: A series of clinical trial analysis over the past decade

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Therapeutic cancer vaccines offer potential against solid tumors, but clinical efficacy is currently limited.
• Diverse vaccine platforms exist, including mRNA, DNA, peptide, dendritic cell, virus vector, and whole tumor cell approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically analyze clinical trials of therapeutic cancer vaccines from 2015-2025.
• To evaluate the clinical utility, safety, and challenges associated with different vaccine platforms.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 86 clinical trials published between 2015 and 2025.
• Analysis included patients with advanced disease and those in adjuvant settings.
• Data on vaccine platforms, response rates, recurrence, T-cell responses, and adverse events were collected.

Main Results:

• Peptide-based vaccines were most common; mRNA vaccines showed rapid growth, often with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
• In advanced disease (1588 patients), disease control rate was 53%, objective response rate was 18%.
• In adjuvant settings (461 patients), 52% experienced recurrence; 67% showed T-cell responses, but without clinical correlation. Adverse events were mostly mild.

Conclusions:

• Therapeutic cancer vaccines exhibit good safety and immunogenicity but limited monotherapy efficacy.
• Combinatorial approaches and personalized neoantigen identification are crucial for enhancing clinical benefit.
• Further research is needed to overcome challenges and improve outcomes in solid tumor treatment.