Neoantigen Vaccines for Cancer Therapy
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 2918
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Neoantigens are tumor-specific antigens that evade central immune tolerance mechanisms, making them ideal targets for cancer vaccine therapy. Within the body, the presentation of neoantigens to T cells by dendritic cells is critically important in immune priming, which activates and expands neoantigen-reactive T cells. The research into the application of neoantigens in cancer vaccines is rapidly advancing, with some vaccine types—such as mRNA-based neoantigen vaccines—already having been approved by the FDA. Beyond mRNA-based vaccines, other types of neoantigen vaccine under development include DNA-based, peptide-based, and dendritic cell-based vaccines (where the respective antigens are loaded onto dendritic cells). Among these, dendritic cell-based vaccines have undergone numerous clinical trials over the years, and their safety has been established. Vaccines where neoantigen peptides are loaded onto dendritic cells show high potential compared to traditional shared-antigen peptides.
The application of each different vaccine entails numerous practical clinical considerations beyond efficacy and adverse events, including cost, lead time, and logistical complexity.
Furthermore, adoptive immunotherapy using neoantigen-specific T cells—where T cells targeting neoantigens are activated and expanded ex vivo before being administered to patients—represents another future therapeutic option.
Therefore, for this Special Issue, we welcome research papers discussing therapeutic applications of neoantigens, such as those described above.
Dr. Takashi Morisaki
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- neoantigens
- vaccine
- dendritic cells
- cancer
- immunotherapy
- priming
- CTL
- helper T cells
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