Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
IMMUNOLOGICAL SURVEILLANCE REVISITED
Immunity to Cancer. Reif AE, Mitchell MS, eds. New York, Academic Press, p. 323-45, 1985.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/86627013 Stutman O; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Abstract:
Immunological surveillance (IS) is discussed under the following headings: definitions, generality of IS, the tumor-host interaction, mechanisms, functions of the immune system, IS against contagious invaders, and IS and natural killer (NK) activity. IS has been defined as the immunological mechanism by which potentially dangerous mutant cells are eliminated. At least three possible interactions may take place between the tumor and the immunological mechanisms of the host: the possible early recognition of the malignant change in situ, and some form of reaction to it, hopefully eliminating such abnormal cells; the complex immunological responses of the host to the developing tumor; and mechanisms affecting metastatic spread of the tumor, which also included interactions between different components of the host's defense mechanisms and possible selection of tumor cell variants. Several possible mechanisms of IS have been proposed, in a progression which has followed the understanding of cell-mediated immunity. Concerning the whole area of tumor immunology (including IS), two prevalent general views have prevailed: the idea that the immune system has evolved as a defense mechanism against cancer; and the reverse view, that functions such as the capacity to reject allografts are simply the result of an efficient system of defense against bacterial, viral, and parasitic invaders. One of the problems of specific tumor immunology, including IS, is that it requires antigens for its triggering; not all tumors have unique determinants that can be detected by immunological methods. The experimental evidence in mice with spontaneous and induced tumors does not support the idea that NK cells are the mediators of IS affecting tumor development. (99 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/IMMUNOLOGY Animal Brain Neoplasms/IMMUNOLOGY Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/IMMUNOLOGY Cytotoxicity, Immunologic Heart/TRANSPLANTATION Heart Transplantation Human Immune Tolerance *Immunocompetence Kidney/TRANSPLANTATION Kidney Transplantation Killer Cells, Natural/IMMUNOLOGY Lymphoma/IMMUNOLOGY Mice Mice, Nude Neoplasms/*IMMUNOLOGY Postoperative Complications/ETIOLOGY Risk Sarcoma, Kaposi's/IMMUNOLOGY Skin Neoplasms/IMMUNOLOGY MEETING PAPER
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
