Neoantigens in cancer immunotherapy: quantity vs. quality

Abstract

Traditional immunotherapies provide clinical benefits to only a few patients with solid tumors, highlighting the urgent need for more effective approaches. Traditional immunotherapies rely on the presentation of cancer antigens, with neoantigens being highly important in this context as they are specific to malignant tissue but not healthy tissue. The quantity of neoantigens is often associated with clinical benefit, but it cannot fully explain or predict patient response. In this Viewpoint, we highlight several qualitative aspects that should be considered in neoantigen‐based therapy. We emphasize the distinction between private and recurrent neoantigens, discuss the importance of neoantigen clonality, and describe new subtypes of neopeptides that further diversify the potential of neoantigens in immunotherapy.

Keywords

• cancer immunotherapy
• cancer microbiome
• neoantigens
• post‐translational modifications
• recurrent mutations
• tumor heterogeneity