Refining Dendritic Cell-Based Cancer Vaccines: Subset Targeting, Translational Barriers, and Emerging Strategies.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are pivotal regulators of immune responses, capable of initiating robust adaptive immunity through antigen presentation. As the most potent antigen-presenting cells, they have emerged as central components of cancer immunotherapy. Over the last decade, advances in molecular engineering, bioinformatics, and nanomedicine have transformed the design of DC-based vaccines. Strategies now include personalized neoantigen loading, mRNA-electroporation, nanoparticle-mediated delivery, and combinatorial regimens with immune checkpoint inhibitors. In addition, emerging approaches that target DC subsets , especially cDC1s, have demonstrated enhanced efficacy in preclinical and early clinical studies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the biological roles of DCs and evaluates the evolution of DC vaccine platforms while also highlighting new technologies and clinical insights that aim to tumor-induced immunosuppression suppression and improve therapeutic outcomes.