Is cancer vaccination feasible at older age?

Abstract

Age-related defects of the immune system are responsible for T cell unresponsiveness to cancer vaccination at older age. Major immune defects at older age are lack of naive T cells, impaired activation pathways of T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs), and age-related changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). This raises the question whether cancer vaccination is feasible at older age. We compared various cancer vaccine studies at young and old age, thereby focusing on the importance of both innate and adaptive immune responses for cancer immunotherapy. These analyses suggest that creating an immune-stimulating environment with help of the innate immune system may improve T cell responses in cancer vaccination at older age.