HUMAN NEOPLASMS ELICIT MULTIPLE SPECIFIC IMMUNE-RESPONSES IN THE AUTOLOGOUS HOST

Expression of cDNA libraries from human melanoma, renal cancer, astroc ytoma, and Hodgkin disease in Escherichia coli and screening for clone s reactive with high-titer IgG antibodies in autologous patient serum lead to the discovery of at least four antigens with a restricted expr ession pattern in each tumor, Besides antigens known to elicit T-cell responses, such as MAGE-1 and tyrosinase, numerous additional antigens that were overexpressed or specifically expressed in tumors of the sa me type were identified, Sequence analyses suggest that many of these molecules, besides being the target of a specific immune response, mig ht be of relevance for tumor growth, Antibodies to a given antigen wer e usually confined to patients with the same tumor type. The unexpecte d frequency of human tumor antigens, which can be readily defined at t he molecular level by the serological analysis of autologous tumor cDN A expression cloning, indicates that human neoplasms elicit multiple s pecific immune responses in the autologous host and provides diagnosti c and therapeutic approaches to human cancer.