Author(s) :

Jeron S. Leonard, Ashley N. Pearson.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Cancer continues to be a worldwide health issue, causing approximately 9.7 million deaths around the world in 2022. Tumor heterogeneity presents a significant challenge to all cancer therapies. Tumors of the same cancer type can have different genetic mutations, making it difficult for traditional cancer therapies to work for every patient. Personalized cancer vaccines are attempting to overcome this challenge by using the body’s immune system to recognize tumor-specific antigens, which are different for every patient. This review integrates evidence for three platforms: peptide-based vaccines, neoantigen vaccines, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor secreting K562 (GM-K562) cell-based vaccines, with an emphasis on mechanisms, clinical outcomes, manufacturing considerations, safety signals, and development status. While each vaccine type demonstrates safety and immunogenicity, the impact of these vaccines has been limited by small trial sizes and variable tumor-level responses. Next development steps include improved antigen selection through advanced sequencing and bioinformatics, combining vaccines with checkpoint inhibitors or adoptive cell therapies, and overcoming tumor heterogeneity. With continued optimization and larger controlled trials, personalized cancer vaccines have the potential to evolve from experimental promise to a central component in precision oncology.