Tumor-associated glycosylated antigens (TAGAs)

Tumor-associated glycosylated antigens (TAGAs), also known as tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs), are a diverse group of glycans and glycoconjugates that are aberrantly expressed on the surface of cancer cells. These alterations, such as hypersialylation or the expression of truncated O-glycans like the Tn and Sialyl-Tn (STn) antigens, result from changes in the expression or activity of glycosyltransferases and sialyltransferases during oncogenesis (ResearchGate, 2025). TAGAs play critical roles in tumor progression by facilitating cell-cell adhesion, promoting metastasis through interactions with selectins, and enabling immune evasion by binding to inhibitory receptors like Siglecs (NIH, 2025). In melanoma, breast, and lung cancers, specific TAGAs such as GD2, Globo H, and MUC1 are prominent targets for therapeutic intervention (Frontiers, 2020). Current drug development strategies include polyvalent vaccines designed to elicit a broad immune response against multiple antigens and monoclonal antibodies that target specific glycans to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ResearchGate, 2020). Despite their potential, the low immunogenicity of carbohydrate structures remains a significant challenge, often requiring the use of carrier proteins and potent adjuvants to achieve a robust therapeutic effect (ResearchGate, 2025).

Other names

Tumor-associated carbohydrate antigensTACAsTumor-associated glycansAberrant glycosylation antigensCancer-associated carbohydrate antigensTumor-associated glycoproteins

Active immunotherapy (vaccination) to induce endogenous antibody and T-cell responses against carbohydrate epitopes; Passive immunotherapy (monoclonal antibodies) to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC).