Odense University Hospital, SDR Boulevard 29, DK-5000, Odense C, Denmark.
Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2010 Jul;10(7):1061-75. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2010.485188.
Immunotherapy holds great potential for disseminated cancer, and cancer-germline (CG) antigens are among the most promising tumor targets. They are widely expressed in different cancer types and are essentially tumor-specific, since their expression in normal tissues is largely restricted to immune-privileged sites. Although the therapeutic potential of these antigens may be compromised by their highly heterogeneous expression in many tumors and low frequency in some cancers, recent developments suggest that tumor-cell-selective enhancement of CG antigen gene expression can be achieved using epigenetic modifiers.
We provide an overview of the potential of CG antigens as targets for cancer immunotherapy, including advantages and disadvantages. We also discuss the current state of development of CG antigen vaccines, and the potential synergistic effect of combining CG antigen immunotherapeutic strategies with epigenetic modifiers.
The reader will gain an overview of the past, present and future role of CG antigens in cancer immunotherapy.
Chemoimmunotherapy using epigenetic drugs and CG antigen vaccines may be a useful approach for treating cancer.
免疫疗法为转移性癌症带来了巨大的潜力，而癌症-种系 (CG) 抗原是最有前途的肿瘤靶标之一。它们在不同的癌症类型中广泛表达，并且基本上是肿瘤特异性的，因为它们在正常组织中的表达在很大程度上仅限于免疫特权部位。尽管这些抗原的治疗潜力可能因许多肿瘤中其表达的高度异质性和某些癌症中频率较低而受到影响，但最近的研究进展表明，使用表观遗传修饰剂可以选择性地增强肿瘤细胞中 CG 抗原基因的表达。
我们提供了 CG 抗原作为癌症免疫治疗靶标的潜力概述，包括其优缺点。我们还讨论了 CG 抗原疫苗的当前开发状况，以及将 CG 抗原免疫治疗策略与表观遗传修饰剂相结合的潜在协同效应。
读者将全面了解 CG 抗原在癌症免疫治疗中的过去、现在和未来作用。
使用表观遗传药物和 CG 抗原疫苗的化疗免疫疗法可能是治疗癌症的一种有效方法。
