Vaccines — Open Access Journal
(Accessed 20 June 2015)
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines

Review:
The Promise of Preventive Cancer Vaccines
by Pier-Luigi Lollini, Federica Cavallo, Patrizia Nanni and Elena Quaglino
Vaccines 2015, 3(2), 467-489; doi:10.3390/vaccines3020467 – published 17 June 2015
Abstract:
Years of unsuccessful attempts at fighting established tumors with vaccines have taught us all that they are only able to truly impact patient survival when used in a preventive setting, as would normally be the case for traditional vaccines against infectious diseases. While true primary cancer prevention is still but a long-term goal, secondary and tertiary prevention are already in the clinic and providing encouraging results. A combination of immunopreventive cancer strategies and recently approved checkpoint inhibitors is a further promise of forthcoming successful cancer disease control, but prevention will require a considerable reduction of currently reported toxicities. These considerations summed with the increased understanding of tumor antigens allow space for an optimistic view of the future.