The immune system and cancer

The hypothesis of immunologic surveillance of neoplasia is predicted on the theory that the immune system is capable of discriminating self from foreign antigens, and that tumour-specific antigens are regarded by the immune system as nonself. An alternate view proposed was that the immune system has...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) 2001-09, Vol.81 (5), p.542-548
Main Author: Chiplunkar, S. V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Antigen presenting cells
Antigens
Cancer
Cellular immunity
Immune system
Lymphocytes
Molecules
Neoplasia
SPECIAL SECTION: CANCER
T lymphocytes
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Summary:The hypothesis of immunologic surveillance of neoplasia is predicted on the theory that the immune system is capable of discriminating self from foreign antigens, and that tumour-specific antigens are regarded by the immune system as nonself. An alternate view proposed was that the immune system has evolved to detect danger by employing 'professional' antigen-presenting cells as sentinels of tissue distress. The field of tumour immunology has witnessed short bursts of great excitement followed by longer periods of pessimism. Enthusiasm appears to be rising again as many tumour-associated antigens have been identified and their use in vaccines is currently the subject of many clinical trials. The development of genetic engineering has allowed the conversion of anti-tumour mouse monoclonal antibodies into mouse-human chimerized antibodies and humanized reagents, which are undergoing clinical trials. Although 'immunogenetherapy' appears to be a promising approach, much work still needs to be done to understand the mechanisms involved so that efficacious treatment modalities can be designed.
ISSN:0011-3891