Alia Syazana Mohd Roslei, Hasniza Zaman Huri, Faisalina Ahmad Fisol, Asif Nawaz, Dyah Ayu Oktavianie A. Pratama, Zarif Mohamed Sofian, Muhammad Fauzi Abd Jalil, Abu Hassan Nordin, Didi Erwandi Mohamad Haron, Abdin Shakirin Mohamad Norpi, Ahmad Khusairi Azemi, Muhammad Luqman Nordin
Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death globally, especially among women. Despite advancements in cancer immunotherapy, breast cancer remains lagging in clinical success compared to vaccines for other cancers. Development of breast cancer vaccine is challenged by several factors including the complexity of heterogeneity of breast cancer subtypes, poor immunogenicity and immune evasion mechanism by cancer cells. The efficiency of cancer vaccine delivery is also suboptimal due to antigen degradation, poor uptake by antigen-presenting cells and inefficient penetration into the TME. In recent years, nanotechnology-based cancer vaccines have emerged as an effective approach to improve the efficacy of breast cancer vaccines. However, their clinical translation also remains a challenge until now. This review provides a comprehensive overview of factors that have challenged the development of breast cancer vaccines and the potential of nanotechnology-based formulations. Additionally, this review also highlights the key challenges hindering nanotechnology-based translation into clinical success, including unstable drug delivery, cancer metastasis and heterogeneity. By addressing these issues, nanotechnology-based vaccines could pave the way for more effective immunotherapy strategies in breast cancer treatment. © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Malaysian Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals (IPharm), National Institute of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Penang, Gelugor, 11700, Malaysia; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, 65151, Indonesia; Universiti Malaya Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals and Advanced Therapeutics (UBAT), Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Perlis, Campus Arau, 02600, Malaysia; Department of Research Development, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Universiti Malaya, Lumpur, Kuala, 50603, Malaysia; Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Perak, 30450, Malaysia; Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology (ICAMB), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030, Malaysia; Centre of Excellence for Food Security and Intelligent Farming, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
