Autoantibody Production in Cancer--The Humoral Immune Response toward Autologous Antigens in Cancer Patients

P Zaenker; E S Gray; M R Ziman

doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2016.01.017

Autoantibody Production in Cancer--The Humoral Immune Response toward Autologous Antigens in Cancer Patients

Autoimmun Rev. 2016 May;15(5):477-83. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.01.017. Epub 2016 Jan 28.

Authors

P Zaenker¹, E S Gray², M R Ziman³

Affiliations

¹ School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Perth, WA, Australia. Electronic address: p.zaenker@ecu.edu.au.
² School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Perth, WA, Australia.
³ School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Perth, WA, Australia; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, WA, Australia.

PMID: 26827909
DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.01.017

Abstract

A link between autoimmune responses and cancer via autoantibodies was first described in the 1950s. Since, autoantibodies have been studied for their potential use as cancer biomarkers, however the exact causes of their production remain to be elucidated. This review summarizes current theories of the causes of autoantibody production in cancer, namely: 1) defects in tolerance and inflammation, 2) changes in protein expression levels, 3) altered protein structure, and 4) cellular death mechanisms. We also highlight the need for further research into this field to improve our understanding of autoantibodies as biomarkers for cancer development and progression.

Keywords: Autoantibody; Autoantibody production; Biomarker; Cancer; Humoral immune response; Immune surveillance.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Antibody Formation*
Autoantibodies / immunology*
Autoantigens / immunology*
Humans
Immune Tolerance
Immunity, Humoral*
Neoplasms / immunology*

Substances

Autoantibodies
Autoantigens