Escape mechanisms in tumor immunity: a year 2000 update

Crit Rev Oncog. 2000;11(2):97-133.

Abstract

The current consensus of opinion has it that most or possibly all tumors, spontaneous as well as induced, are immunogenic, expressing antigens in a form recognizable by the host immune system. Accordingly, in order to progress, tumors have to evolve strategies for evading immune responses. The purpose of this review is to consider the current status of knowledge concerning these different tumor escape strategies. It represents an update of an article originally published in this journal in 1997 (Pawelec, Zeuthen, and Kiessling, 1997). Therefore, it focuses mostly on publications that have appeared since then, illustrating the impressive accumulation of new data since that time and the importance currently attributed to studies of tumor escape from the immune response.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / immunology*
  • Clonal Anergy / immunology*
  • Clonal Deletion / immunology*
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • HLA Antigens / immunology*
  • HLA Antigens / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunization / methods
  • Interleukin-10 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-10 / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / immunology
  • Tumor Escape / immunology*

Substances

  • Antigens, Neoplasm
  • HLA Antigens
  • Interleukin-10