Peptide-based anticancer vaccines: The making and unmaking of a T-cell graveyard

Poorly biodegradable, incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA)-based anticancer vaccines primed CD8(+) T cells that did not localize to the tumor site but to the persisting, antigen-rich vaccination site, which became a T-cell graveyard. Short-lived, water-based formulations and the provision of immunostimulatory molecules overcame this issue, resulting in tumor suppression. Here, we discuss the implications of these findings for the development of therapeutic anticancer vaccines.