Classification of cancer antigens
| Type of antigens | Antigen characteristics | Example of human tumor antigens |
|---|---|---|
| Cancer-germline | Expressed by tumor cells and adult reproductive tissues | MAGE, BAGE, NY-ESO-1 |
| Differentiation | Expressed by tumors cells and a limited range of normal tissues | Tyrosinase, Melan-A/MART-1, Gp100, CEA |
| Overexpressed | Highly expressed in tumor cells and few in some normal tissues | EGFR, HER2, MUC1 |
| Mutant neoantigens | Mutant antigens, expressed only by tumor cells as a result of mutation, patient-specific | p53, Ras, BCR-ABL, ACTN4 |
| TEIPP neoantigens | Non-mutated antigens expressed by tumor cells with APM defects | ppCT, LRPAP1 |
| Viral antigens | Expressed only by tumor cells as a result of viral infection | HPV E6–E7, EBV, HBV, HTVL |
EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor; HER2: human EGFR 2; ppCT: preprocalcitonin; HPV: human papillomavirus; EBV: Epstein-Barr virus; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HTVL: human T cell leukemia virus; APM: antigen presentation machinery; BAGE: B melanoma antigen; NY-ESO-1: New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1; Gp100: glycoprotein 100; CEA: carcinoembryonic antigen; MUC1: mucin 1; p53: tumor protein 53; BCR-ABL: breakpoint cluster region and abelson oncogene; LRPAP1: LDL-receptor-related protein-associated protein 1; ACTN4: actinin 4