Ajay K Mali, Sabya Sachi Das, Nanasaheb D Thorat
Cancer vaccines are emerging as a promising approach in immuno-oncology, with the potential to generate tumour-specific and long-lasting immune responses. However, shared-antigen strategies often show limited efficacy because of tumour heterogeneity, immune escape and challenges in identifying immunogenic targets, ultimately limiting progress towards effective immunotherapies. Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) are facilitating a shift towards systematic and data-driven vaccine design, effectively bridging conventional design gaps. AI-driven integration of immunopeptidomics, sequence optimisation and delivery design supports a more cohesive therapeutic pipeline. This review highlights recent advances, key challenges and the scientific and translational considerations shaping next-generation cancer vaccines.