title: Is cancer dangerous to the immune system?
abstract: The hypothesis of immunologic surveillance of neoplasia is predicated on the theory that the immune system is capable of discriminating self from foreign antigens, and that tumor-specific antigens are regarded by the immune system as nonself. We propose here an alternate view, that the immune system has evolved to detect danger by employing 'professional' antigen-presenting cells as sentinels of tissue distress. In this model, cancers do not appear dangerous to the immune system, so that the default response of T cells to tumors is to be turned off. We discuss the implications for immunotherapy of malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, MD 21289, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matzinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D007157:Immunologic Surveillance; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*