see also Cancer Vaccine for Glioblastoma

see also Glioma immunotherapy.

Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors, often with a poor prognosis. Cancer vaccines offer a promising immunotherapeutic approach by stimulating the immune system to recognize and destroy glioma cells.

Gliomas, especially glioblastoma (GBM), express tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that can be targeted by vaccines. The goal is to trigger a T cell–mediated immune response against tumor cells without harming healthy brain tissue.

• Target short amino acid sequences derived from glioma antigens.
• Common targets:
  1. EGFRvIII (mutant receptor)
  2. IDH1 R132H (mutant metabolic enzyme)
  3. Survivin, WT1, SOX2

• Patient's dendritic cells are loaded with tumor lysate or peptides ex vivo and reinfused.
• Goal: Present antigens efficiently to T cells.
• Example: DCVax-L (under clinical investigation)

• mRNA vaccines encoding glioma antigens (e.g., personalized neoantigens)
• Rapid design, adaptable to individual tumors
• Under active clinical research (e.g., NOA-16 trial)

• Use heat-shock proteins or whole tumor lysate as an antigen source.
• Broader antigen presentation.

Which glioma vaccine holds the most promise for the future? Based on current evidence and ongoing clinical trials, personalized neoantigen mRNA vaccines are emerging as the most innovative and adaptable strategy.

Why are they promising:

• Tailored to each patient's unique tumor mutations using next-generation sequencing (NGS)
• mRNA platforms enable rapid design, flexibility, and scalability
• Can encode multiple neoantigens to overcome antigen heterogeneity
• Do not integrate into the genome → low safety risk
• Work well with checkpoint inhibitors and other immunotherapies

Clinical Example:

• NOA-16 Trial (Germany)
  1. First-in-human mRNA vaccine trial for glioblastoma
  2. Personalized based on tumor sequencing
  3. Induced strong T cell responses and showed good safety profile

• Integration with AI-based neoantigen prediction
• Combination therapies with:
  1. Checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., anti–PD-1)
  2. Radiotherapy
  3. Oncolytic viruses
• Faster, cheaper, and more automated vaccine platforms

Glioma vaccine strategies are evolving rapidly. While traditional approaches still hold value, the future lies in personalized, multi-antigen mRNA vaccines that are safer, faster to develop, and better suited to tumor heterogeneity.

1. Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment
2. Blood-brain barrier (limits immune cell entry)
3. Antigen heterogeneity and immune escape
4. HLA restrictions (limits patient eligibility)

• Personalized neoantigen vaccines using next-gen sequencing
• mRNA vaccine platforms (flexible, rapid, safe)
• Combination with:
  1. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., anti-PD-1)
  2. Oncolytic viruses
  3. Radiotherapy

Cancer vaccines for glioma represent a personalized, low-toxicity immunotherapy strategy. Although challenges remain, especially in GBM, ongoing trials combining vaccines with other immunotherapies show promise for future clinical use.

Conventional therapies for glioblastoma (Glioblastoma) typically fail to provide lasting antitumor benefits, owing to their inability to specifically eliminate all malignant cells. Cancer vaccines are currently being evaluated as a means to direct the adaptive immune system to target residual Glioblastoma cells that remain following standard-of-care treatment. Areas covered: In this review, we provide an overview of the more noteworthy cancer vaccines that are under investigation for the treatment of Glioblastoma, as well as potential future directions that may enhance Glioblastoma-vaccine effectiveness. Expert Opinion: To date, no cancer vaccines have been proven effective against Glioblastoma; however, only a few have reached phase III clinical testing. Clinical immunological monitoring data suggests that Glioblastoma vaccines are capable of stimulating immune responses reactive to Glioblastoma antigens, but whether these responses have an appreciable antitumor effect on Glioblastoma is still uncertain. Nevertheless, there have been several promising outcomes in early phase clinical trials, which lend encouragement to this area of study. Further studies with Glioblastoma vaccines are, therefore, warranted ¹⁾.

In a 2015 conference focused on the development of personalized therapies and their commercial viability, with in-depth discussions of novel T-cell therapies, oncolytic viruses, gene therapies and adoptive T-cell transfer. The meeting brought together key academic and medical experts with leading industry figures to debate future directions and the next generations of tools in cancer immunotherapy ²⁾.

see autologous formalin-fixed tumor vaccine