Modern concepts for antitumor vaccine design

Immunotherapeutic vaccines represent a promising strategy in oncology. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of interaction between the immune system and tumor cells and in developing strategies to overcome tumor immunosuppression. The aim of the review is to systematize modern data on approaches to the development of antitumor vaccines, analyze their mode of action, advantages and limitations. Materials and methods. The PubMed, Google Scholar and eLibrary.ru were used for literature review. Results. The review considers various platforms for creating antitumor vaccines: dendritic and tumor cells, nucleic acids, oncolytic viruses and peptides. Nucleic acid vaccines (DNA/mRNA) can encode multiple epitopes, including neoantigens, and are easily adapted for personalized therapy. Viral and cellular platforms combine direct tumor lysis with immunostimulation. Research papers present modern methods on modifying tumor cells to enhance their immunogenicity, such as adjuvant therapy, genetic engineering, and antigen delivery platforms. The review highlights the prospects for using exosomes and mitochondria as carriers for delivering therapeutic molecules, as well as combined approaches that include the use of vaccines in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, cytokine-induced killer cells and radiation therapy, which helps to overcome tumor resistance to immunotherapy and enhance antitumor immunity. The problems associated with antitumor vaccines in elderly patients are discussed. Conclusion. Modern antitumor vaccines show significant therapeutic potential, particularly in combination with other treatment modalities. Successful integration of vaccines into complex cancer therapy requires interdisciplinary collaboration and continued basic and clinical research. Further research should be aimed at optimizing combination therapy regimens, developing response biomarkers, and adapting vaccines for elderly patients.