Dendritic cell‑based vaccines for colorectal cancer: Mechanisms, clinical progress and future directions (Review)

Dendritic cell (DC)‑based vaccines have emerged as a promising immunotherapy against a broad range of cancers. DCs are sentinel antigen‑presenting cells that play a pivotal role in cancer immunosurveillance by recognizing tumor antigens via innate immune responses and subsequently stimulating adaptive T‑cell‑mediated anti‑tumor responses. Autologous DC‑based vaccines prime the individual's immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells, aiming to achieve durable anti‑tumor immunity and impede tumor relapse. The safety and effectiveness of DC‑based vaccines for cancer treatment have been demonstrated in several clinical studies, either as monotherapy (such as Sipuleucel‑T) or in combination with other therapies such as chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of the current progress and clinical applications of DC‑based vaccines for colorectal cancer (CRC). Various subsets of DCs and their biological roles in anti‑tumor immunity are explored in detail and the mechanistic insights into DC‑based vaccine development are discussed. Additionally, the present review highlighted the outcomes of recent clinical trials of autologous DC‑based vaccines for advanced CRC, as well as the challenges and strategies for overcoming them in the development and clinical applications for CRC. Taken together, the potential and limitations of DC‑based vaccines for CRC are underscored in the present review to provide an improved understanding and guide future directions in developing efficacious DC‑based therapeutic vaccines for CRC.