Advances of MUC1 as a target for breast cancer immunotherapy

Histol Histopathol. 2007 Aug;22(8):905-22. doi: 10.14670/HH-22.905.

Abstract

MUC1 is a potential target in breast cancer immunotherapy as MUC1 is overexpressed in breast cancer, and is absent or expressed in low level in normal mammary gland. In addition, MUC1 is mostly aberrantly underglycosylated in cancer and the antigens on the cancer surface are different from normal cell. Therefore targeting MUC1 for cancer immunotherapy can exploit the difference between cancer and normal cells, and eliminating the cancerous cells while leaving the normal mammary cells unharmed. This review will focus on the recent advance of MUC1 breast cancer immunotherapy currently being investigated.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use
  • Apoptosis
  • Breast Neoplasms / immunology
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Cancer Vaccines / therapeutic use
  • Cell Adhesion
  • Cell Movement
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Dendritic Cells / transplantation
  • Female
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / adverse effects
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mucin-1 / biosynthesis
  • Mucin-1 / chemistry
  • Mucin-1 / immunology
  • Mucin-1 / metabolism*
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Protein Conformation
  • Signal Transduction*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Cancer Vaccines
  • Mucin-1