Gene Discovery ? Immunotherapy has been most successful when targeted to differentiation antigens expressed on hematopoietic tumors, in large part because the target antigens (e.g., CD20, CD25) are not expressed on essential cells or organs. Other cancers in which this approach could be successful are prostate, breast and ovary. To identify target antigens in prostate we have developed a computer based method to search the EST data base for ESTs that are expressed in prostate, prostate cancer and not other essential organs or cells. We have validated this approach experimentally and used it to identify prostate specific members of the MAGE/GAGE family which we term PAGE. We also found evidence for high level expression on novel T-cell receptor gamma transcripts in prostate epithelial cells. In addition, several other prostate specific transcripts have been identified and are being characterized. This method promises to be a useful approach to the discovery of new targets for immunotherapy. - breast cancer, immunotherapy, Prostate cancer,
Showing the most recent 10 out of 24 publications