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Review
. 2015 Apr;8(4):266-70.
doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-14-0314. Epub 2015 Jan 8.

The antigenic repertoire of premalignant and high-risk lesions

Juan Pablo Marquez  1 , Sasha E Stanton  1 , Mary L Disis  2
Affiliations
Review

The antigenic repertoire of premalignant and high-risk lesions

Juan Pablo Marquez et al. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Prophylactic vaccines have been a major advance in preventing the development of infections after exposure to pathogens. When contemplating an effective approach to cancer prevention, vaccines offer unique advantages over other more standard approaches: First, once appropriately stimulated, antigen-specific T cells will travel to all sites of disease and eradicate cells bearing the proteins to which the T cells have been primed by vaccination. Second, successful immunization will further result in the development of immunologic memory, providing lifelong immunologic surveillance. There is evidence of an adaptive tumor immune infiltrate even at the earliest stages of breast and colon cancer development. Furthermore, there is measurable immunity to lesion-associated antigens present in patients who will eventually develop malignancy even before cancer is clinically evident. Recent studies are beginning to unmask the preinvasive antigenic repertoire for these two malignancies. Preliminary experiments in transgenic mouse models of mammary and intestinal tumors suggest that immunization against antigens expressed in preinvasive and high-risk lesions may be effective in preventing the development of invasive malignancy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Evolution of adaptive immunity during breast cancer progression
As breast cells develop progressive atypia and then invasion of the basement membrane (pink circle) in invasive carcinoma, the adaptive immune response also increases. Immune infiltrate is graded from 0 (no infiltrate), + (low infiltrate), ++ (intermediate infiltrate), +++ (high infiltrate), and ++++ (very high infiltrate).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Evolution of adaptive immunity during colon cancer progression
As the epithelial cells of the colonic lumen develop atypia and then invade the basement membrane (pink bar) adaptive immunity is regulated. Immune infiltrate is graded from 0 (no infiltrate), + (low infiltrate), ++ (intermediate infiltrate), +++ (high infiltrate), and ++++ (very high infiltrate).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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