Mimicry of Tumour-Associated Carbohydrates: Is It a Promising Option for Cancer Treatment?

SEGATORI, VALERIA INÉS; FERREIRA, GRETEL MAGALÍ; ROJO, SELENE; NOGUEIRA, AYLEN CAMILA; CASTILLO, JEREMÍAS OMAR; GULINO, CYNTHIA ANTONELLA; GABRI, MARIANO ROLANDO

Immuno

Immuno

Año: 2023 vol. 3 p. 122 - 147

Modulation of the immune system has been demonstrated as a powerful approach totreating cancer. Immunotherapies are generally classified as active or passive according to theirability to trigger the immune system. During the last decades, information regarding the relevance of aberrant glycosylation as a major player in tumour biology encouraged expectations for the development of new therapeutic strategies directed at glycans. Several tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) have been identified and validated as suitable immunotherapeutic targets, leading to promising therapeutic developments. It is known that TACAs are poorly immunogenic since they are unable to trigger a proper immune response. Given that they are not presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules and that they induce immune tolerance, the development of active immunotherapeutic strategies against TACAs is a real challenge. However, antitumor strategies based on mimetics of TACAs have been developed and show promising results. Active immunotherapies based on TACAs mimicry can currently be grouped into strategies based on the use of mimetic peptides and anti-idiotype (Id) antibodies. In this review, we discussed the scientific basis on which these strategies are based and the available therapeutic options that have shown the best results in preclinical studies and in clinical practice.