New Developments in Breast Cancer Immunology

Abstract

During the past five years a great number of investigators have applied immunological methods in their quest against breast cancer. A great proportion of the studies have been dedicated to the application of the hybridoma technology to obtain monoclonal antibodies to define breast tumor markers that could help in the diagnosis of primary and metastatic lesions. The ultimate goal is to direct chemotherapeutic agents with great efficiency to the tumor mass sparing the surrounding normal tissues. Another area that has received considerable attention is the assessment of host immune reactions in relationship to mammary tumor development. In this connection several investigators have studied the humoral immune factors and their modulating effects on the lymphoreticular cells. Realizing that the activities detected in peripheral lymphoid organs may not be as relevant as those of tumor infiltrating cells, many researchers have analyzed the in situ immune responses and the cells mediating them. In recent years molecular biologic data has been generated that indicates a possible association between mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) and human breast carcinoma. Various immunological studies have been published that also establish a relationship between the murine agent and the human tumors. In the following sections the various reports are discussed and analyzed in order to obtain new perspectives as we evaluate the progress made up to date and formulate future plans aimed at the eventual control of breast cancer.