title: Roles of cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) in breast cancer.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the US. For breast cancer, early diagnosis and efficient therapy remains a significant clinical challenge. Therefore, it is necessary to identify novel tumor associated molecules to target for biomarker development and immunotherapy. In this regard, cancer testis antigens (CTAs) have emerged as a potential clinical biomarker targeting immunotherapy for various malignancies due to the nature of its characteristics. CTAs are a group of tumor associated antigens (TAAs) that display normal expression in immune-privileged organs, but display aberrant expression in several types of cancers, particularly in advanced cancers. Investigation of CTAs for the clinical management of breast malignancies indicates that these TAAs have potential roles as novel biomarkers, with increased specificity and sensitivity compared to those currently used in the clinic. Moreover, TAAs could be therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapy. This review is an attempt to address the promising CTAs in breast cancer and their possible clinical implications as biomarkers and immunotherapeutic targets with particular focus on challenges and future interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Yongfei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Yanhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Jiahui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Chunxiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China; Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Medical Institute, Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Ziyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Magee Women's Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Hansheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Nanjing 210004, China. Electronic address: ym.yin@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer/testis antigens (CTAs); Immunotherapy; Prognostic factor; Tumor progression