Significance of tumor-associated antigens in the diagnosis and therapy of cancer: an overview
Kuroki, M.; Ueno, A.; Matsumoto, H.; Abe, H.; Li, T.; Imakiire, T.; Yamauchi, Y.; Uno, K.; Shirota, K.; Shibaguchi, H.; Kuroki, M.
Anticancer Research 22(6c): 4255-4264
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0250-7005 PMID: 12553066 Document Number: 541409
An enormous effort using a wide variety of approaches has been undertaken over the last three decades to transform both basic and clinical research into improved diagnoses and therapies of cancer. This brief overview summarizes the significance of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) in the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. Current data suggest that immunotherapy and gene therapy using antibody-recognized TAAs as their targets are promising, whereas those using T cell-recognized peptide epitopes of TAAs as their targets remain controversial regarding their efficacy, mainly due to general losses of HLA molecules in tumor cells.