Natural history of HLA expression during tumour development

HLA expression is frequently altered in tumours compared to the tissue from which they originate. Given the central role of MHC products in the restriction of T-cell recognition, regulation of tumour HLA expression might be a strategy for the evasion of immune surveillance by the malignant cells. Federico Garrido, Peter Stern and colleagues present data from a variety of tumour types, suggesting that HLA class I alterations may occur at a particular step between the development of an in situ lesion and an invasive carcinoma.