Dear Colleagues, 

The demonstration of the role of mutation-associated neoantigens in cancer immunity has recently led to the development of personalized cancer vaccines with encouraging clinical results and a renewed interest in this therapeutic approach. In this Special Issue, we will review the different families of tumor antigens that can be used for cancer vaccines, including tissue-differentiation antigens, shared cancer-specific antigens, mutation-associated neoantigens, and “alternative” tumor-specific antigens. The different methods and tools of tumor epitope selection will be presented (bioinformatics and proteomics analysis, role of mass spectrometry for the detection of HLA-bound peptides). Many questions are still open, such as the choice of the best formulation to induce an effective antitumor response: peptides, mRNA, DNA, virus, nanoparticles, etc. The clinical results obtained so far with different types of tumor antigens and formulations will be reviewed. The challenges and perspectives will be discussed: possibility to convert a cold tumor into a hot tumor, interest in a metastatic/advanced or adjuvant setting, combination with checkpoint blockade, place in a future therapeutic armamentarium including cell therapy, and industrial and regulatory challenges. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a global vision on the therapeutic potential of cancer vaccination.

Prof. Dr. Stephane Depil
Guest Editor

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• cancer vaccine
• tumor antigen
• clinical development