Cancer immunotherapy, encompassing both experimental and standard-of-care therapies, has emerged as a promising approach to harnessing the immune system for tumor suppression. Experimental strategies, including novel immunotherapies and preclinical models, are actively being explored, while established treatments, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), are widely implemented in clinical settings. This comprehensive review examines the historical evolution, underlying mechanisms, and diverse strategies of cancer immunotherapy, highlighting both its clinical applications and ongoing preclinical advancements. The review delves into the essential components of anticancer immunity, including dendritic cell activation, T cell priming, and immune surveillance, while addressing the challenges posed by immune evasion mechanisms. Key immunotherapeutic strategies, such as cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, adoptive cell transfer, and ICIs, are discussed in detail. Additionally, the role of nanotechnology, cytokines, chemokines, and adjuvants in enhancing the precision and efficacy of immunotherapies were explored. Combination therapies, particularly those integrating immunotherapy with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, exhibit synergistic potential but necessitate careful management to reduce side effects. Emerging factors influencing immunotherapy outcomes, including tumor heterogeneity, gut microbiota composition, and genomic and epigenetic modifications, are also examined. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms underlying immune evasion and therapeutic resistance are analyzed, with a focus on the contributions of noncoding RNAs and epigenetic alterations, along with innovative intervention strategies. This review emphasizes recent preclinical and clinical advancements, with particular attention to biomarker-driven approaches aimed at optimizing patient prognosis. Challenges such as immunotherapy-related toxicity, limited efficacy in solid tumors, and production constraints are highlighted as critical areas for future research. Advancements in personalized therapies and novel delivery systems are proposed as avenues to enhance treatment effectiveness and accessibility. By incorporating insights from multiple disciplines, this review aims to deepen the understanding and application of cancer immunotherapy, ultimately fostering more effective and widely accessible therapeutic solutions. • Various aspects of immunotherapy, from its historical evolution to modern strategies and clinical applications, are explored. • Immunotherapeutic approaches, including cancer vaccines and oncolytic virus therapy, are discussed. • The efficacy and mechanisms of immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive cell therapies are evaluated. • The complexities of the tumor microenvironment and mechanisms of immune evasion are highlighted. • Advances in cytokines, chemokines, nanotechnology, and combination therapies that enhance immunotherapy effectiveness are outlined. • What are the primary strategies and modalities employed in cancer immunotherapy? • How does the tumor microenvironment influence the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy? • What are the key challenges in developing effective cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies? • How do molecular and genetic factors, including noncoding RNAs and epigenetic modifications, contribute to immunotherapy resistance? • What are the future directions for enhancing the efficacy and accessibility of cancer immunotherapy?

Circular RNA FOXO3 (CircFOXO3, also termed as Hsa_circ_0006404) is derived from exon 2 of forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) gene, and abnormal expression is shown in different diseases. However, whether circFOXO3 plays important roles in tumorigenesis and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. In this study, we found that circFOXO3 was up‐regulated in both PCa tissues and serum samples. Moreover, circFOXO3 was positively correlated with the Gleason score in PCa samples. CircFOXO3 was observed to be up‐regulated in Gleason score > 6 PCa samples compared with Gleason score = 6 PCa samples. Knock‐down circFOXO3 could remarkably inhibit PCa cell cycle, proliferation and promote cell apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrated circFOXO3 could act as miR‐29a‐3p sponge to up‐regulate SLC25A15 expression by bioinformatics analysis, dual‐luciferase reporter assays and biotinylated RNA pull‐down assays. SLC25A15 could reverse the tumour suppressing roles of knock‐down circFOXO3 in PCa. Of note, we found that miR‐29a‐3p was down‐regulated; however, SLC25A15 was overexpressed in PCa samples compared with normal tissues. In conclusion, circFOXO3 acts as a miR‐29a‐3p sponge to exhibit oncogenic activity that affects the cell cycle and cell apoptosis in PCa through transcriptional up‐regulation of SLC25A15. Our analysis suggests circFOXO3 could act as promising prostate cancer biomarkers.

IL-6R/STAT3/miR-204 feedback loop contributes to cisplatin resistance of epithelial ovarian cancer cells

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein-coding transcripts that play important roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Our study aimed to explore the role of lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 in breast cancer metastatic progression. In the present study,