Cancer Immunology at the Crossroads: Functional Genomics Getting Personal with Neoantigen-Based Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines

Despite years of preclinical efforts and hundreds of clinical studies, therapeutic cancer vaccines with the routine ability to limit or eliminate tumor growth in humans have been elusive. With advances in genome sequencing, it is now possible to identify a new class of tumor-specific antigens derived from mutated proteins that are present only in the tumor. These "neoantigens" should provide highly specific targets for antitumor immunity. Although many challenges remain in producing and testing neoantigen-based vaccines customized for each patient, a neoantigen vaccine offers a promising new approach to induce highly focused antitumor T cells aimed at eradicating cancer cells. Cancer Immunol Res; 1(1); 11–15. 2013 AACR.