Immunology is largely based on the recognition and discrimination of self and non-self. Many pathogens have molecular signatures that allow the immune system to recognize and target them for destruction (Janeway Jr. et al. 2002). Unlike most pathogens, tumor cells lack these identifiable molecular signatures, allowing them to evade recognition as “non-self” and subsequently the immune response. Instead, cancer cells display tumor antigens that can be recognized by the immune system. Two such categories of these tumor antigens include tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and tumor-specific neoantigens, which arise through different mechanisms. TAAs are expressed at low levels in normal tissues but are overexpressed in cancer cells, whereas tumor-specific neoantigens arise via non-synonymous mutations in the tumor itself (Lu et al. 2016). In some cases, these mutations lead to the expression of mutated peptides.
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