Survivin – a promising target for immunotherapy in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma

Abstract

Objectives: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumor with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Survivin is an anti-apoptotic molecule expressed by neoplastic and tumor-specific endothelial cells of various carcinomas, but rarely or only weakly in normal differentiated tissue. In melanoma and pancreatic cancer, preliminary results of a survivin vaccination trial (www.clinicaltrials.gov) indicated that an immunological response in patients is often paralleled by tumor control. Hence, we investigated, whether survivin may also be a reasonable target for an immunotherapy in ACC.