Current Concepts of Tumor Immunology I. Basic Immunologic Concepts

Abstract

Interest in tumor immunology grew out of the study of host response to microbial infections during the second half of the 19th century. However, the growth of interest in transplantation during the 1950s and 1960s is largely responsible for the great surge of scientific investigation into tumor immunobiology which we are experiencing today. Tumor cells possess certain abnormal antigens in addition to their normal complement of transplantation antigens. These abnormal antigens evoke an immune response in the host, which involves both the humoral and the cell-mediated systems. Though the cell-mediated (thymus derived) system is generally conceded the most important role in tumor cell destruction, the humoral (bursal-equivalent derived) system also plays a role in host response which is presently less clearly understood. Certain aspects of the humoral response (blocking factors) actually appear to inhibit the host response against a tumor. This complex system of host immune response to tumor has been termed the immunosurveillance system.