Limited SP17 expression within tumors diminishes its therapeutic potential

作者：Gjerstorff M F^*; Ditzel H J

来源：Tissue Antigens, 2012, 80(6): 523-527.

DOI：10.1111/tan.12015

• cancer antigen
• G antigen
• immunotherapy
• melanoma-associated antigen-A
• sperm protein 17

In this study, we have investigated the expression of the tumor antigen sperm protein 17 (SP17) in a large panel of human cancers and compared it with the expression of two well-characterized families of tumor antigens, melanoma-associated antigen-A (MAGE-A) and G antigen (GAGE). We found that SP17 was expressed in many cancer types with an overall frequency of 12%. SP17 was most frequently expressed in a different set of cancer types than MAGE-A and GAGE antigens and rarely overlapped with these proteins. Importantly, SP17 expression was limited to a small number of scattered cancer cells in most positive tumors in contrast to MAGE-A and GAGE proteins, which were homogenously expressed in large foci. Our results suggest that SP17 may not be an optimal target for cancer vaccines.

• 出版日期2012-12