Membrane vesicles, a group of nano- or microsized vesicles, can be internalized or interact with the recipient cells, depending on their parental cells, size, structure and content. Membrane vesicles fuse with the target cell membrane, or they bind to the receptors on the cell surface, to transfer special effects. Based on versatile features, they can modulate the functions of immune cells and therefore influence immune responses. In the field of
tumor therapeutic applications,
phospholipid-membrane-based nanovesicles attract increased interest. Academic institutions and industrial companies are putting in effort to design, modify and apply membrane vesicles as potential
tumor vaccines contributing to
tumor immunotherapy. This review focuses on the currently most-used types of membrane vesicles (including
liposomes, bacterial membrane vesicles,
tumor- and dendritic-cell-derived extracellular vesicles) acting as
tumor vaccines, and describes the classification, mechanism and application of these nanovesicles.