Glioma Immunotherapy: Mechanistic Landscape, Pre‑clinical Evidence, and Clinical Translation

Recent Advances and Future Prospects in Gene Delivery Platforms for Glioblastoma: A Review.

This review discusses the most recent progress in genetic therapies for gliomas, with a focus on clinical platforms and those nearing clinical translation.

The cancer/testis antigens represent promising targets for the development of new therapies against melanoma.

This review aims to critically analyze the immunogenic and oncogenic potential of CTAs, synthesize current preclinical and clinical evidence across distinct CTA subfamilies, and highlight innovative CTA-based immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of melanoma.

Translational Immunology in Oncology: From Mechanisms to Clinical Outcomes

Introduction: Fundamental knowledge from tumor immunology, including tumor antigenicity, mechanisms of immune evasion, and the tumor microenvironment, is informing the clinical development of immunotherapy strategies. Methodology: Databases searched include Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science. Foundations of Tumor Immunology: Tumors develop via mutagenesis, and mutations may lead to alterations in coding and non-coding sequences, eventually producing neoantigens that can trigger T-cell recognition. Mechanisms Linking Immunology to Therapeutic Outcomes: Immunoediting, a process viewed as an adaptation driven equally by the immune system and tumor, leads to tumor heterogeneity. The establishment of preclinical models that adequately recapitulate the interplay between the immune system, the tumor, and the therapeutic options employed. Translational Approaches in Oncology: Translational approaches encompass biomarker discovery, patient stratification, preclinical modelling, and clinical trial design. Successful translation of preclinical observations into routinely used clinical applications depends on data demonstrating a clear association between the putative biomarker and the desired patient benefit. Clinical Outcomes of Immuno-Oncology Therapies: Immuno-oncology therapy has created a paradigm shift in the treatment of some advanced-stage cancers and, in certain situations, has become the standard of care. Checkpoint blockade agents can produce long-lasting responses in a subset of patients. Challenges and Future Directions: Immune evasion appears as an important mechanism for resisting immune-mediated therapies. Conclusion: Translational immunology seeks to integrate mechanistic knowledge of antitumor immunity with clinical outcomes following therapeutic intervention in cancer patients. Biomedical research is often divided into basic vs applied domains, but translational work crosses freely between both. Translational immunology aims to pave the way for basic to bidirectional exploration around antitumor immunity and therapy.

Overcoming immunotherapy barriers in pediatric brain tumors: epigenetic strategies

The advent of cancer immunotherapy has led to dramatically improved outcomes in several immunogenic adult cancers. Similar successes have been seen in some pediatric cancers, but only in specific settings. A particular challenge has been the application of immunotherapy approaches to pediatric brain tumors, with early clinical experience showing promise but few durable responses. Key barriers to immunotherapy arise from distinctive features of pediatric brain tumors, including low tumor immunogenicity, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and impaired effector cell function. Additionally, the application of immunotherapies to the confined space of the CNS must be carefully calibrated to avoid neurological toxicity. Unlike immunogenic adult cancers, many pediatric brain tumors have a paucity of genetic mutations and are driven by epigenetic alterations. Tumor subtypes with the same genetic driver can have markedly different tumor immune microenvironments, illustrating that non-genetic factors contribute to immune dysregulation. Here, we review key features of the tumor immune microenvironments of malignant pediatric brain tumors and consider how these features serve as barriers to successful application of immunotherapy. We evaluate evidence that pharmacologic manipulation of the epigenome can be leveraged to shape the tumor immune microenvironment and consider combinatorial approaches using epigenetic-targeted therapies and immunotherapies to inform future clinical studies of pediatric brain tumors.

SPECIAL REPORTS AND REVIEWS Colorectal Cancer Vaccines: Principles, Results, and Perspectives

The Treatment Revolution of Melanoma: What Came Before Immunotherapy?

Melanoma is a biologically complex malignancy characterized by rapid progression, strong metastatic potential, and notable resistance to conventional systemic therapy. The therapeutic landscape of melanoma has been significantly reshaped by continuing advances in molecular oncology and tumor immunology in the past few decades. This review examines the major biological mechanisms involved in the development and progression of melanoma. Current treatment strategies are discussed, with particular focus on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), specifically those targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4, both of which have demonstrated long-term clinical benefits in patients with advanced melanoma. Emerging checkpoint molecules, including LAG-3, TIGIT, and TIM-3, are also described as potential targets for next-generation immunotherapeutic approaches. In addition, this review discusses recent progress in targeted treatment approaches, immune-based therapeutic development, and adoptive cellular immunotherapy. Future studies will likely concentrate on refining combination therapies while developing more personalized treatment strategies that can further improve patient outcomes in melanoma management.