The sweet side of tumor immunotherapy

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Updated: May 19, 2026

Experimental Melanoma Immunotherapy Model Using Tumor Vaccination with a Hematopoietic Cytokine
09:15

Experimental Melanoma Immunotherapy Model Using Tumor Vaccination with a Hematopoietic Cytokine

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Teresa Freire1, Eduardo Osinaga

  • 1UdelaR, Facultad de Medicina, Dept. Inmunobiología, Gral. Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. tfreire@fmed.edu.uy

Immunotherapy
|August 3, 2012
PubMed

Carbohydrate signatures on tumor cells have functional implications in tumor growth and metastasis and constitute valuable tools in cancer diagnosis and immunotherapy. Increasing data regarding the mechanisms by which they are recognized by the immune system are facilitating the design of more efficient immunotherapeutic protocols based on cancer-associated glycan structures. Recent molecular and proteomic studies revealed that carbohydrates are recognized, not only by B cells and antibodies, but also by cells from the innate arm of immunity, as well as by T cells, and are able to induce specific T-cell immunity and cytotoxicity. In this review, we discuss and update the different strategies targeting tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens that are being evaluated for antitumor immunotherapy, an approach that will be highly relevant, especially when combined with other strategies, in the future fight against cancer.

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