TARGETING TUMORS WITH NANOVACCINES: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF IMMUNE ACTIVATION, COMPOSITION, AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES

Abstract

The immune system evolved to protect the host organism from external infections while discriminating between self and non-self-entities. Cancer, on the other hand, is difficult to treat because it involves genetic changes in the host's cells, leading to uncontrolled proliferation and evasion of immune surveillance mechanisms. Cancer immunotherapy seeks to teach the immune system to recognize and kill altered cancer cells. The science of cancer immunotherapy has expanded dramatically in recent decades, with therapeutic vaccines appearing as a potential method, either alone or combined with other immunotherapies like immune checkpoint blockade therapy or adoptive cell treatment. This review explores the structure, methods, types, benefits, and limitations of nanovaccines in cancer treatment. A literature review spanning recent research articles on Nano vaccines was conducted through various authenticated public databases to gather information for such a comprehensive compilation. Nanomedicine offers a novel approach to improve the efficacy of these vaccinations by delivering molecular, cellular, or subcellular vaccines to lymphoid tissues and cells. This customized delivery technique attempts to increase the potency and duration of anti- tumor immune responses while minimizing side effects. Despite their potential, cancer vaccinations have shown poor success in clinical trials.