Immune response to cancer cells

To understand the mode of action of adjuvant materials in vaccines and the choice of their characteristics, we need to return to the mechanism of the immune response. The immune response to an antigen and to an antigen synthesized by a cancer cell can be diagrammed as shown in figure 1 .

Under normal conditions, tumor cells are spontaneously recognized by tissue-resident NK (natural killer) cells. This process is part of innate immunity. The acquired immune response, specific to an antigen or group of antigens, is mediated by antigen-presenting cells: macrophages and, above all, dendritic cells. These cells monitor circulating molecules and organisms, and after phagocytosis of these organisms, express proteins belonging to them on their surface. These abnormal proteins are recognized by immune...