Circular RNA Vaccines: Pioneering the Next-Gen Cancer Immunotherapy

Circular RNA (circRNA) vaccines are emerging as a revolutionary strategy in cancer immunotherapy, offering novel mechanisms for inducing robust and durable immune responses. Unlike traditional linear mRNA vaccines, circRNAs exhibit exceptional stability, enhanced translational efficiency, and resistance to exonuclease degradation, making them ideal candidates for vaccine development. This review delves into the fundamental principles underlying circRNA biology, highlighting their unique structural advantages and translational potential. We examine recent advancements in circRNA vaccine design, focusing on their application in oncology. As the circRNA-based cancer vaccine is a relatively novel approach, accounts of all the major studies describing the efficacy have been discussed. To maximize the anti-cancer effects of circRNA vaccines, we also investigate their combination with other immunotherapeutic modalities such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapies. Large-scale manufacturing, immunogenicity optimization, delivery systems, and other challenges and future directions in the sector are also discussed. This study aims to thoroughly analyse the state-of-the-art and potential future applications of circRNA vaccines in cancer immunotherapy, highlighting them as exciting possibilities for next-generation cancer therapies.