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The universal character of the tumor-associated antigen survivin

Mads Hald Andersen1, Inge Marie Svane, Jürgen C Becker

  • 1Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Hematology, Herlev University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark. mahaan01@heh.regionh.dk

Clinical Cancer Research : an Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
|October 20, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Survivin, a protein found in most cancers but not normal tissues, shows promise as a universal target for cancer immunotherapy. Targeting survivin may enhance cancer treatments and therapeutic vaccinations.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Survivin is a bifunctional apoptosis inhibitor protein.
  • It is expressed in most human neoplasms but absent in normal tissues.
  • Survivin plays roles in apoptosis protection and mitosis regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate survivin as a universal target antigen for anticancer immunotherapy.
  • To explore the potential of targeting survivin for therapeutic cancer vaccinations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing data on survivin expression in various cancers.
  • Analysis of spontaneous anti-survivin T-cell reactivity in cancer patients.
  • Consideration of ongoing clinical trials targeting survivin.

Main Results:

  • Survivin is present in a wide range of cancers, including breast, colon, lymphoma, leukemia, and melanoma.
  • Spontaneous anti-survivin T-cell reactivity is observed in cancer patients.
  • Down-regulation of survivin impacts tumor cell survival capacity.

Conclusions:

  • Survivin is a promising universal target antigen for anticancer immunotherapy.
  • Targeting survivin may be a viable strategy for therapeutic cancer vaccinations.
  • Ongoing clinical trials will provide further insights into survivin-targeted therapies.

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