Therapeutic cancer vaccines: From initial findings to prospects

With the approval of the first therapeutic cancer vaccine by US Food and Drug Administration, numerous therapeutic cancer vaccines have been under clinical trials with an inspiring antitumor immune response in cancer patients. Though there is no therapeutic cancer vaccine showing clinical efficacy in phase III trials, recent advances in personalized cancer vaccine based on neoantigens have emerged as an efficient way to induce tumor regression. In this review, we discuss the selection methods of tumor specific antigen and mainly focus on the development of therapeutic cancer vaccine strategies. Besides, we highlight the newly developed personalized cancer vaccine as a novel therapeutic approach for cancer patients. Finally, we outline the recent development of therapeutic cancer vaccine in clinical trials.