Carbohydrate Based Blood Antigens in Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives

New advances in chemistry and biology have lead to the development of innovative approaches towards the treatment of deadly diseases like cancer. Particularly, glycochemistry and glycobiology have passed through a renaissance in the last two decades. This is apparent from the fact that the recent advances in the synthesis of tumor associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) have led to the development of various anticancer vaccines undergoing clinical trials. Fully synthetic anti-cancer vaccines targeting tumor-associated carbohydrates provide an attractive option for the treatment of cancer. Such vaccine candidates have major advantages as they can be designed to incorporate only those elements required for a desired immune response, and can be produced in a reproducible manner. Recent developments in the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and glycopeptides have made it possible to construct such glycoconjugate vaccine candidates.