Improved approach to identify cancer-associated autoantigens.

Abstract

The failure to identify biomarkers of clinical significance for cancer diagnosis and prognosis generated a great deal of skepticism in regard to the usefulness of autoantibody-based methods. SEREX was a major advancement in immunoscreening that resulted in the identification of a large group of autoantigens recognized by cancer sera. However, few SEREX-defined autoantigens have proven to have definitive diagnostic value in clinical practice. Often, the identified antigens are patient-specific rather than tumor-specific and many tumor-associated antigens are rare in expression libraries made from non-autologous cells. Since autoantibodies are part of the normal immune response, it can be difficult to single out tumor-associated antibodies from the scores of irrelevant patient-specific responses. In our view, any practical approach for identifying cancer-related autoantigens must include an integral strategy for demonstrating tumor relevance early in the screening process. Care must also be taken not to exclude potentially important autoantibodies by pre-screening manipulations to patient sera. We have introduced substantial modifications in SEREX, designed to minimize confounding effects of unrelated autoantibodies and to eliminate steps that preclude the identification of cancer-related autoantigens commonly recognized by cancer sera. In addition, we incorporate methodology to identify candidate antigens that have potential diagnostic or prognostic value prior to their molecular cloning and characterization.

• Authors: Félix Fernández Madrid, Naimei Tang, Huda Alansari, Robert L Karvonen, John E Tomkiel
• Journal: Autoimmunity reviews (Autoimmun Rev) Vol. 4 Issue 4 Pg. 230-5 (Apr 2005) ISSN: 1568-9972 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 15893717 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Review)

Chemical References

• Antigens, Neoplasm
• Autoantibodies
• Autoantigens

Topics

• Antigens, Neoplasm (analysis, blood)
• Autoantibodies (immunology)
• Autoantigens (analysis, blood)
• Breast Neoplasms (diagnosis, immunology)
• Neoplasms (diagnosis)