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The challenge of selecting tumor antigens for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in ovarian cancer

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Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common cancers in women, with a high mortality rate and very few available and effective treatments. Evidence shows that immunotherapy in OC has not been very successful because immune checkpoint blockers have not achieved satisfactory clinical outcomes. On the other hand, as one of the effective treatment approaches, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy has gained a moral position, especially in blood malignancies. Although in solid tumors, CAR T-cell therapy faces various complications and challenges. One of these challenges is selecting the appropriate tumor antigen targeted by CAR T cells, making the selection difficult due to the expression of antigens by tumor cells and normal cells. In addition, the rate of tumor antigen expression and CAR T-cell access to the desired antigen and proper stimulation of CAR T cells can be other important points in antigen selection. This review summarized common tumor antigens and the challenges of selecting them in CAR T cells therapy of OC.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

This work was supported by Public Technology Applied Research Projects of Zhejiang Province (LGF22H060023 to WQL), Medical and Health Research Project of Zhejiang Province (2022KY433 to WQL), Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province (2022ZB382 to WQL), Research Fund Projects of The Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University (2021FSYYZY45 to WQL).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology, Shaoxing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, 312000, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Haigang Ding, Juan Zhang & Feng Zhang

  2. Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Shaoxing University, 312000, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Haigang Ding, Juan Zhang & Feng Zhang

  3. Intensive Care Unit, Zhoushan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 355 Xinqiao Road, Dinghai District, 316000, Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Xu

  4. Medical Research Center, Zhoushan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 355 Xinqiao Road, Dinghai District, 316000, Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

    Yijun Yu, Wenqing Liang & Qingping Li

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  1. Haigang Ding
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Contributions

W L and Q L: conception, design and inviting co-authors to participate. H D, J Z and F Z: writing original manuscript draft. W L, Q L, Y X and Y Y: review and editing of manuscript critically for important intellectual content and provided comments and feedback for the scientific contents of the manuscript. All authors read, revised and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wenqing Liang or Qingping Li.

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Ding, H., Zhang, J., Zhang, F. et al. The challenge of selecting tumor antigens for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in ovarian cancer. Med Oncol 39, 232 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-022-01824-7

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