Yoon Jaegoo, Moon Haeun, Jeon Yuna, Choe Soohyun, Yoon Hyunho
Department of Medical and Biological Sciences, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon 14662, Republic of Korea.
Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon 14662, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 9;26(10):4559. doi: 10.3390/ijms26104559.
Colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer worldwide, is one of the deadliest cancers. CRC is known as a cold tumor, characterized by a low immune response that makes it difficult for immune cells to infiltrate and exhibits strong resistance to immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibition. This restricted response is largely attributed to signature gene mutations including mismatch repair (MMR) genes, , , , and , which are also the main oncogenes in CRC. Mutated signature genes continuously upregulate abnormal signaling pathways, leading to excessive proliferation, cancer progression, and metastasis. Furthermore, it reorganizes the tumor microenvironment (TME) by recruiting immunosuppressive cells. However, the mutation can produce neoantigens that can provoke an immune response, making it a potential target for immunotherapy. In particular, cancer vaccines that leverage the strong neoantigenic properties of these mutations are considered promising for overcoming immune resistance and eliciting anti-tumor responses. In this review, we will describe signature gene mutations in CRC and focus on cancer vaccines targeting these mutations as potential therapies for CRC.
结直肠癌（CRC）是全球第三大常见癌症，也是最致命的癌症之一。CRC被称为冷肿瘤，其特征是免疫反应低下，这使得免疫细胞难以浸润，并且对检查点抑制免疫疗法表现出强烈抗性。这种受限的反应在很大程度上归因于特征性基因突变，包括错配修复（MMR）基因， ， ， ，以及 ，这些也是CRC中的主要致癌基因。突变的特征性基因持续上调异常信号通路，导致过度增殖、癌症进展和转移。此外，它通过招募免疫抑制细胞来重组肿瘤微环境（TME）。然而，这种突变可产生能引发免疫反应的新抗原，使其成为免疫疗法的潜在靶点。特别是，利用这些突变的强大新抗原特性的癌症疫苗被认为有望克服免疫抗性并引发抗肿瘤反应。在这篇综述中，我们将描述CRC中的特征性基因突变，并重点关注针对这些突变的癌症疫苗作为CRC的潜在治疗方法。
