CANCER VACCINES: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Abstract

Tumors evade the immune system through the establishment of an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. Immune checkpoint inhibition is leading to immune escape of cancer cells and their proliferation. New strategies which are represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. programmed death 1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen (CTLA-4) and chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy have shown remarkable efficacy in addressing various types of cancer. Unfortunately, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated the majority of patients do not respond to these immunotherapies. This review will give a perspective of potential combinatorial strategies with cancer vaccines that could unlock the power of vaccines in cancer.