GLYCOPEPTIDE-BASED AND CARBOHYDRATE-BASED SYNTHETIC VACCINES FOR THE IMMUNOTHERAPY OF CANCER

On cancer cells, MUC-1 mucin displays distinct carbohydrate structures , such as Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) and sialyl-Tn, the presence of whi ch is attributed to reduced glycosylation activity. The core peptide i s increasingly exposed and is recognized by the immune system. Vaccine s based on both the exposed core protein, which contains major histoco mpatibility complex unrestricted epitopes, and carbohydrate structures are targets for the immunotherapy of cancers of epithelial origin. A vaccine formulated using synthetic sialyl-Tn has proven to be highly t arget-specific in human trials, and the induction of high anti-STn ant ibody titers correlated with prolonged survival of breast cancer patie nts. Peptides and glycopeptides formulated as liposome-based vaccines have been effective in animal models.