What makes MUC1 a tumor antigen?

Uwe Karsten1, Silvia von Mensdorff-Pouilly, Steffen Goletz

  • 1Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch, Germany. uwe.karsten@glycotope.com

The epithelial mucin 1 (MUC1) is an accepted serum tumor marker and cellular tumor antigen. We discuss recent views on the difference(s) between normal and tumor MUC1, and its implication for the development of cancer vaccines and antibody therapies, with special emphasis on the role of glycosylation.