Small but mighty: Peptides as next-generation immunotargeting agents in gynecological cancers

The most common cancers in women, ovarian, cervical and endometrial, are still a significant cause of cancer-related illness and death around the world. Success with the newest immunotherapy can only be achieved when the treatment targets the tumor accurately. Although monoclonal antibodies, aptamers and antisense oligonucleotides are traditionally used in immunotargeting, they face challenges related to bulkiness, their price, immune response and reaching tumors. For these reasons, peptides are now considered important next-generation substances for immunotargeting. This review describes how peptides are becoming increasingly significant in gynecological oncology through their application in drug targeting, imaging cancer, and making vaccines. Findings on how peptide targeting systems measure up to other approaches and some recent advances in designing peptide-drug conjugates, receptor-targeting therapies, and CAR-T therapies are discussed. This review also discuss about how peptides are stable, how to deliver them selectively and how artificial intelligence supports better peptide designing. With the development of precision medicine, the use of peptide-based immunotargeting can greatly improve both the success and safety of treatments for cancer of the uterus and ovaries.