Vaccines for Cancer: A Translational Science Review.

Sipuleucel-T reduced all-cause mortality versus placebo in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, with a 32% vs 23% difference (hazard ratio 0.78; P = .03).

• Why it matters: After decades of limited success, advances in tumor immunology and vaccine delivery are renewing clinical investigation of cancer vaccines across multiple malignancies.
• What they did: The review describes cancer vaccines as combinations of an antigen target, an immune-activating adjuvant, and a delivery vehicle, including neoantigen- and mutation-derived approaches.
• The result: In advanced melanoma, talimogene laherparepvec increased 6-month-or-longer complete or partial response rates versus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (16.3% vs 2.1%; odds ratio 8.9; P < .001).