Question ID: WS-67
Submitted by: Masato Mitsuhashi
February 25, 2011
Background: To fight against cancer, an understanding of cancer cell development and growth as well as an understanding of anti-cancer immunity is beneficial. Although many specific cancers have been well characterized at the cellular, molecular, and genetic levels, an individual’s cancer-fighting immunity has not been well assessed qualitatively and quantitatively due to the lack of appropriate technologies. The key word is “individual” as in personalized medicine. Question: Thus, the provocative question is the assessment of a patient’s immunity against each cancer, which will be a model of personalized onco-immunology. Various immunological methods are available, however, the majority of these technologies are cellular assays, that are applicable as research tools, but they are not suitable for assessing individual’s immunological response. Immunohistochemical staining and flow cytometric analysis are used to identify specific types of immune cells, however, not their functional abilities. Detection and quantification of anti-cancer IgG or antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTL) are not sufficient. For example, we should know how Fc-receptor-positive leukocytes and CTL behave at an individualized level. Due to polymorphism of receptors, kinases, transcription factors, etc., cellular function may not be common among all cancer patients. Moreover, general and specific immunity may be altered by aging, and by cancer itself, or damaged by chemotherapy.
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