Identification of Novel Human Cancer-Specific Antigens - Literature review Example

The discovery of cancer/testis antigens has opened up a wide range of opportunities for further research on cancer prevention and diagnosis (Madsen et al., 2003; Tajima, 2003; Grizzi et al., 2007; Hoffman, Caballero, Costa, Blanc and Rodin, 2007; Luo et al., 2007; Neesse et al., 2007; Salemi et al, 2007; Stevenson, Chen, Cohen, Chua, 2008; Domae et al., 2009; Meklat et al., 2009).

Likewise, opportunities to develop cancer treatment demonstrated promising results (Haffner et al., 2001; Jäger, Jäger, and Knuth, 2002; Fijak and Meinhardt, 2006; Park, Lin, Nishidate, Nakamura & Katagiri, 2006;  Tabi and Man, 2006;   Hayashi et al., 2007; Meklat et al., 2007; Dakshinamurthy, Ramesar, Goldberg and Blackburn, 2008; Hunder et al., 2008; Old, 2008; Caballero and Chen, 2009; Chen et al., 2009; Dubovsky et al., 2009; Fard and Modaressi, 2009; Vujanovic and Butterfield, 2009).

Consequently, pioneering research in the search for effective cancer vaccines has produced cancer/testis antigens such as MAGE, GAGE, and NY-ESO-1 which are currently undergoing clinical trials (Mashino et al. 2001; Bowlus, 2007; Gierstoff and Ditzel, 2008). Each year more cancer/testis antigens are being identified, creating more opportunities for research and increasing the chances of developing cancer vaccines that can be used not only for treatments, but for prevention as well (Jäger, Jäger, and Knuth, 2002). Also, research on cancer/testis antigens has brought to light important discoveries on how mechanisms of cancer development work at a molecular level (Alters, 2000; Old, 2001; Gjerstoff, Kock, Nielsen, and Ditzel, 2007; Delbridge, 2010; Inagaki, Schoenmakers and Baarends, 2010; Suzuki et al., 2010).

Moreover, studies on the link between chromosomes and immune responses reveal that some cancers are more prevalent in males than in females. In addition, results also show that females may have higher cancer survival rates but are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases (Libert, Dejager, and Pinheiro, 2010).

Further research on the role of cancer/testis antigens should be conducted, particularly in determining the mechanisms that initiate cancer in the first place. Also, further studies should be performed to develop better cancer diagnostic methods and combination immunotherapy strategies.