Lymph nodes as a target for the use of dendritic cell vaccines: modern approaches and prospects

This article provides an overview of current approaches to cancer immunotherapy, with an emphasis on the role of dendritic cells (DCs), lymph nodes (LNs), and innovative methods of vaccine delivery. Immunotherapy using DC-based vaccines represents a promising direction, capable of stimulating a specific immune response against tumor cells and forming long-term immune memory. Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) play a key role in immune activation, as they are the sites where dendritic cells present tumor antigens and activate T-cells. In cancer, unlike viral infections, CD8+ T-cell activation occurs in two stages, and the effectiveness of this process depends on signals from the tumor microenvironment, which explains why the immune response to cancer is often weak. The article also discusses modern strategies for delivering vaccines to lymph nodes, including the use of nanoparticles, bioorthogonal reactions, and photothermally induced materials. These approaches help overcome the "granularity paradox", associated with the need to balance vaccine size for LN penetration and uptake by immune cells. The prospects of adoptive cell therapy using T-cells from TDLNs, as well as the role of exosomes and whole-cell tumor antigens in the development of effective vaccines, are also considered. Combination strategies, such as the use of vaccines together with checkpoint inhibitors (e. g., anti-PD1), demonstrate potential for enhancing antitumor immunity. The further advancement of cancer immunotherapy requires the integration of new knowledge about the biology of dendritic cells, modern methods of cell engineering, and nanotechnology to create personalized and effective antitumor vaccines.