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Cancer immunoediting from immune surveillance to immune escape
Author(s) -
Kim Ryungsa,
Emi Manabu,
Tanabe Kazuaki
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2007.02587.x
Subject(s) - immunoediting , immune system , biology , effector , immunology , immunosurveillance , antigen , acquired immune system , major histocompatibility complex , innate immune system , immunity , immunotherapy
Summary Cancer immune surveillance is considered to be an important host protection process to inhibit carcinogenesis and to maintain cellular homeostasis. In the interaction of host and tumour cells, three essential phases have been proposed: elimination, equilibrium and escape, which are designated the ‘three E’s'. Several immune effector cells and secreted cytokines play a critical role in pursuing each process. Nascent transformed cells can initially be eliminated by an innate immune response such as by natural killer cells. During tumour progression, even though an adaptive immune response can be provoked by antigen‐specific T cells, immune selection produces tumour cell variants that lose major histocompatibility complex class I and II antigens and decreases amounts of tumour antigens in the equilibrium phase. Furthermore, tumour‐derived soluble factors facilitate the escape from immune attack, allowing progression and metastasis. In this review, the central roles of effector cells and cytokines in tumour immunity, and the escape mechanisms of tumour cells during tumour progression are discussed.