HLA System in Cancer

2019 John A. Catanzaro

HLA gene classification is currently utilized in cancer for stem cell matching (BMT) and organ transplantation. However, a much broader capacity of HLA classification would be to identify unique patient cancer related molecular proteins / antigens / peptide segments that are the most immunogenic and that can be used as synthesized epitopes to induce a strong targeted immune defense.

In cancer medicine the current dilemma is isolation of common antigens because that’s what everyone is doing in response to the research environment and literature.

The number of proteins specific to the cancer type isolated in the urine can be as high as 100 different proteins and maybe 40 of these proteins are unique. However, when typed to the patient’s own unique HLA A,B and C, the 40 proteins / antigens / peptides can be skimmed down to 8–25 related to different aspects of molecular and immune controls in the specific cancer type. Some of these proteins may be common to other cancer types.

The peptides are synthesized and mapped based upon their molecular significance and relationship to the cancer resistance / tumor escape, mutation, migration, inflammation / adhesive characteristics immune defenses and regulation.

Reference:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d2fc/1a165f484cb581994b2232ccafa36f1876c1.pdf