Editing Cancer vaccine (section)

== Mechanism of action ==
Tumor antigen vaccines work the same way that viral vaccines work, by training the immune system to attack cells that contain the [[antigens]] in the vaccine. The difference is that the antigens for viral vaccines are derived from viruses or cells infected with virus, while the antigens for tumor antigen vaccines are derived from cancer cells. Since tumor antigens are antigens found in cancer cells but not normal cells, vaccinations containing tumor antigens should train the immune system to target cancer cells not healthy cells. Cancer-specific tumor antigens include [[peptides]] from proteins that are not typically found in normal cells but are activated in cancer cells or peptides containing cancer-specific mutations.  [[Antigen-presenting cells]] (APCs) such as [[dendritic cells]] take up antigens from the vaccine, process them into [[epitopes]], and present the epitopes to [[T-cells]] via [[Major Histocompatibility Complex]] proteins.  If T-cells recognize the epitope as foreign, the [[adaptive immune system]] is activated and target cells that express the antigens.<ref name="vax">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sayour EJ, Mitchell DA | title = Manipulation of Innate and Adaptive Immunity through Cancer Vaccines | journal = Journal of Immunology Research | volume = 2017 | pages = 3145742 | date = 2017-02-06 | pmid = 28265580 | pmc = 5317152 | doi = 10.1155/2017/3145742 | doi-access = free }}</ref>