Patient-specific tumor neoantigen epitopes (Neoantigens) (Neoantigens)

Patient-specific tumor neoantigen epitopes are unique peptide sequences resulting from somatic mutations—such as single nucleotide variants, insertions/deletions, or gene fusions—that occur exclusively within a patient's tumor cells (Nature Reviews Cancer, 2017). These epitopes are processed and presented on the cell surface by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules, where they can be recognized by the T-cell receptor (TCR) of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells (Science, 2015). Because these antigens are absent from the normal genome, they are not subject to central thymic tolerance, allowing for the generation of high-affinity T-cell responses without the high risk of autoimmunity associated with shared tumor-associated antigens (NIH NCI, 2023). Therapeutic interventions, such as personalized mRNA vaccines or peptide-based vaccines, are designed to stimulate the patient's immune system to recognize these specific non-self markers (Nature, 2023). Additionally, adoptive cell transfer using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes can be enriched for neoantigen-specific clones to achieve potent anti-tumor activity (PubMed, 2021).

Other names

Tumor-specific antigensTSAsNeoepitopesSomatic mutation-derived antigensPersonalized cancer antigens

Induction of de novo or expansion of existing neoantigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses to selectively eliminate tumor cells expressing the target epitopes (Nature, 2023).