Neoantigens and cancer-testis antigens as promising vaccine candidates for triple-negative breast cancer: Delivery strategies and clinical trials

RamaRao Malla; Mundla Srilatha; Veda Muppala; Batoul Farran; Virander Singh Chauhan; Ganji Purnachandra Nagaraju

doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.05.020

Neoantigens and cancer-testis antigens as promising vaccine candidates for triple-negative breast cancer: Delivery strategies and clinical trials

J Control Release. 2024 May 15:370:707-720. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.05.020. Online ahead of print.

Authors

RamaRao Malla¹, Mundla Srilatha², Veda Muppala³, Batoul Farran⁴, Virander Singh Chauhan⁵, Ganji Purnachandra Nagaraju⁶

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Biology Lab, Department of Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, GITAM School of Science, GITAM (Deemed to be University), Visakhapatnam 530045, Andhra Pradesh, India.
² Department of Biotechnology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati 517502, AP, India.
³ Department of Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
⁴ Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁵ Molecular Medicine Group, Molecular Medicines International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.
⁶ Department of Hematology and Oncology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. Electronic address: pganji@uab.edu.

PMID: 38744346
DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.05.020

Abstract

Immunotherapy is gaining prominence as a promising strategy for treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Neoantigens (neoAgs) and cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are tumor-specific targets originating from somatic mutations and epigenetic changes in cancer cells. These antigens hold great promise for personalized cancer vaccines, as supported by preclinical and early clinical evidence in TNBC. This review delves into the potential of neoAgs and CTAs as vaccine candidates, emphasizing diverse strategies and delivery approaches. It also highlights the current status of vaccination modalities undergoing clinical trials in TNBC therapy. A comprehensive understanding of neoAgs, CTAs, vaccination strategies, and innovative delivery methods is crucial for optimizing neoAg-based immunotherapies in clinical practice.

Keywords: Neoantigens; Peptide vaccines; RNA vaccines; TNBC; Vaccine candidates.