NGcGM3 ganglioside: a privileged target for cancer vaccines

FERNANDEZ LE; GABRI MR; GUTHMANN MD; GOMEZ RE; GOLD S; FAINBOIM L; GOMEZ DE; ALONSO DF

CLINICAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY

HINDAWI PUBLISHING CORPORATION

Lugar: New York; Año: 2010 vol. 2010 p. 814397 - 814397

1740-2522

Active specific immunotherapy is a promising field in cancer research. N-glycolyl (NGc) gangliosides, and particularly NGcGM3,have received attention as a privileged target for cancer therapy. Many clinical trials have been performed with the anti-NGc-containing gangliosides anti-idiotype monoclonal antibody racotumomab (formerly known as 1E10) and the conjugated NGcGM3/VSSP vaccine for immunotherapy of melanoma, breast, and lung cancer. The present paper examines the role of NGcgangliosides in tumor biology as well as the available preclinical and clinical data on these vaccine products. A brief discussion on the relevance of prioritization of cancer antigens in vaccine development is also included.