Recent progress in mRNA cancer vaccines

ABSTRACT

The research and development of messenger RNA (mRNA) cancer vaccines have gradually overcome numerous challenges through the application of personalized cancer antigens, structural optimization of mRNA, and the development of alternative RNA-based vectors and efficient targeted delivery vectors. Clinical trials are currently underway for various cancer vaccines that encode tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), tumor-specific antigens (TSAs), or immunomodulators. In this paper, we summarize the optimization of mRNA and the emergence of RNA-based expression vectors in cancer vaccines. We begin by reviewing the advancement and utilization of state-of-the-art targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), followed by presenting the primary classifications and clinical applications of mRNA cancer vaccines. Collectively, mRNA vaccines are emerging as a central focus in cancer immunotherapy, offering the potential to address multiple challenges in cancer treatment, either as standalone therapies or in combination with current cancer treatments.

KEYWORDS:

• mRNA vaccine
• lipid nanoparticles
• cancer vaccines
• tumor antigens
• personalized therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 32370923, 81972692].