This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Korangy, F. Articles by Greten, T. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Korangy, F. Articles by Greten, T. F.

Spontaneous Tumor-Specific Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses to NY-ESO-1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, ² Clinic of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, and ³ Departments of Pathology and of Cell and Molecular Pathology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer around the world. Although several therapeutic approaches for treatment of HCC are available, survival rates for HCC patients are still very poor because of inefficient treatment options. For HCC, as well as other tumors, antigen-specific immunotherapy remains a viable approach that is dependent on the definition of tumor-associated antigens. NY-ESO-1, a member of the cancer testis antigen family, is one possible candidate for a tumor-specific antigen in HCC. The aim of this study was to show the relevance of NY-ESO-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Experimental Design: Sera samples from 189 HCC patients were analyzed for NY-ESO-1-specific antibodies. Forty-nine HCC patients were screened for NY-ESO-1 mRNA expression in HCC tissue. Selected patients were followed for up to 3 years to correlate their immune response with their clinical course of events. NY-ESO-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses from NY-ESO-1 seropositive patients were analyzed and a NY-ESO-1+ specific cytotoxic T-cell line was generated.

Results: Twelve of 49 analyzed tumor samples expressed NY-ESO-1 mRNA and 23 of 189 patients showed NY-ESO-1-specific antibody responses. These humoral immune responses were accompanied by NY-ESO-1-specific functional CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses. Finally, NY-ESO-1 humoral responses were dependent on the presence of NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors.

Conclusions: This is the first report of a spontaneous immune response in HCC patients to a known tumor-specific antigen, NY-ESO-1 protein. Our data favor the possibility of immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of HCC.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Condomines, D. Hose, P. Raynaud, M. Hundemer, J. De Vos, M. Baudard, T. Moehler, V. Pantesco, M. Moos, J.-F. Schved, et al. Cancer/Testis Genes in Multiple Myeloma: Expression Patterns and Prognosis Value Determined by Microarray Analysis J. Immunol., March 1, 2007; 178(5): 3307 - 3315. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Ayaru, S. P. Pereira, A. Alisa, A. A. Pathan, R. Williams, B. Davidson, A. K. Burroughs, T. Meyer, and S. Behboudi Unmasking of {alpha}-Fetoprotein-Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Embolization J. Immunol., February 1, 2007; 178(3): 1914 - 1922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. I. Garbe, B. Vermeer, J. Gamrekelashvili, R. v. Wasielewski, F. R. Greten, A. M. Westendorf, J. Buer, R. M. Schmid, M. P. Manns, F. Korangy, et al. Genetically Induced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Is Highly Immunogenic and Causes Spontaneous Tumor-Specific Immune Responses Cancer Res., January 1, 2006; 66(1): 508 - 516. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Ormandy, T. Hillemann, H. Wedemeyer, M. P. Manns, T. F. Greten, and F. Korangy Increased Populations of Regulatory T Cells in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cancer Res., March 15, 2005; 65(6): 2457 - 2464. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]