Cancer immunity Tumor specific antigens

Induction of antitumor immune responses by using tumor-specific antigens is a cherished goal in cancer therapeutics since it promises to be free of dose-limiting... 

Ciesielski MJ, Kazim AL, Barth RF, Fenstermaker RA. Cellular antitumor immune response to a branched lysine multiple antigenic peptide containing epitopes of a common tumor-specific antigen in a rat glioma model. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2005 54 107-119. 

In addition to having an overabundance of several self-antigens, tumor cells express unique antigens, which can be recognized by the host immune system, provided that the immune system is simultaneously activated. Without this activation, the immune system will become tolerized to the unique antigens known as tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which are usually small peptides of 8 to 10 amino acids. The potential exists for the eradication of cancers by injection of TAAs and the subsequent immune response. Indeed, there have been many tumor-reactive CTLs identified that recognize specific TAAs (15). 

Lou, Y., Vitalis, T. Z., Basha, G., Cai, B., Chen, S. S., Choi, K. B., Jeffries, A. P., Elliott, W. M., Atkins, D., Seliger, B., and Jefferies, W. A., 2005, Restoration of the expression of transporters associated with antigen processing in lung carcinoma increases tumor-specific immune responses and survival, Cancer Res. 65 7926-7933. 

Several studies have shown that tumor-specific CD4 T cells play a central role in initiating and maintaining protective immune responses against cancer, and the lack of these T cells in any vaccine strategy could be the cause for weak and transitory immune responses [285,291,326,327]. There are, however, few effective methods for identifying MHC class Il-restricted tumor antigens that can stimulate CD4 T helper cells, and in addition to that, the... 

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