Cancer-specific neoantigen (Neoantigen (commonly used; no standard abbreviation for "cancer-specific neoantigen"))

Cancer-specific neoantigens are mutated peptide antigens that arise from non-synonymous somatic mutations, gene rearrangements, abnormal splicing, or post-translational modifications unique to cancer cell genomes. Unlike tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), neoantigens are not present in normal tissues and therefore elicit highly cancer-specific immune responses with minimal off-target toxicity. Their identification relies on tumor DNA/RNA sequencing combined with bioinformatic prediction. Neoantigen-based therapies—including personalized cancer vaccines and adoptive T cell therapies—are designed to stimulate or enhance T cell responses directed specifically at mutation-encoded peptides displayed by cancer cells via MHC molecules. These approaches have demonstrated promising clinical activity, especially in cancers with high mutational burden such as melanoma, lung, and MSI-high colorectal cancer. Neoantigen-based strategies face technical challenges in prediction, validation, and manufacturing, but their tumor specificity makes them a central focus in next-generation cancer immunotherapy

Other names

Tumor-specific antigenTSApersonalized neoantigenmutated peptide antigen

Presentation of mutated peptide by MHC molecules of cancer cells, leading to recognition and killing by tumor-specific T cells\nInduction of immunological memory for long-term control of cancer\nActivation/expansion of neoantigen-specific CD4^+^ and CD8^+^ T cells