Cancer/testis antigens: an expanding family of targets for cancer immunotherapy.
Cancer/testis (CT) antigens are a category of tumor antigens with normal expression restricted to male germ cells in the testis but not in adult somatic tissues. In some cases, CT antigens are also expressed in ovary and in trophoblast. In malignancy, this gene regulation is disrupted, resulting in CT antigen expression in a proportion of tumors of various types. Since their initial identification by T-cell epitope cloning, the list of CT antigens has been greatly expanded through serological expression cloning (SEREX) and differential mRNA expression analysis, and approximately 20 CT antigens or antigen families have been identified to date. Characteristics commonly shared by CT antigens, aside from the highly tissue-restricted expression profile, include existence as multigene families, frequent mapping to chromosome X, heterogeneous protein expression in cancer, likely correlation with tumor progression, induction of expression by hypomethylation and/or histone acetylation, and immunogenicity in cancer patients. Spontaneous humoral and cell-mediated immune responses have been demonstrated against several CT antigens, including NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A, and SSX antigens. Since CT antigens are immunogenic and highly restricted to tumors, their discovery has led directly to the development of antigen-specific cancer vaccines, and clinical trials with MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 are in progress.
Scanlan
Matthew J
MJ
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Department of Pathology, New York, NY 10021, USA. scanlanm@mskcc.org
Gure
Ali O
AO
Jungbluth
Achim A
AA
Old
Lloyd J
LJ
Chen
Yao-Tseng
YT
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010053:Ovary / Q000276:immunology; D013737:Testis / Q000276:immunology*; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000276:immunology
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines