Biomaterials nanoplatform-based tumor vaccines for immunotherapy

With the increasing incidence of cancer, it has become one of the most significant diseases threatening global human health. Tumor vaccines effectively induce activation of antigen-specific anti-tumor immune responses by delivering tumor antigens and adjuvants to antigen presenting cells (APCs), significantly inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis. Consequently, tumor vaccines have emerged as one of promising modalities in the next generation tumor immunotherapy. Biomaterial-based nanoplatforms have exhibited remarkable potential in enhancing the efficacy of tumor vaccines through antigen stabilization, spatiotemporal co-delivery of antigens/adjuvants to APCs, augmented lymphatic targeting, and initiation of robust responses from Th1/or cytotoxic T lymphocytes with immunological memory. In this review, we analyzed the state-of-art development of tumor vaccines delivered by biomaterial-based nanoplatforms. We first elaborated tumor vaccine components, including tumor antigens and adjuvants, and their mechanisms of immune activation. We then dived into an array of biomaterial-based nanoplatforms explored for tumor vaccine delivery, including lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, biomimetic nanoparticles, and hydrogels. Furthermore, recent clinical trials of tumor vaccines were summarized, and future directions and key challenges in the development of tumor vaccines were discussed.