Detection of Early Cancer: Genetics or Immunology? Serum Autoantibody Profiles as Markers of Malignancy

What is it about?

While numerous oncogenes have been identified as associated with human cancers, the last 50 years of molecular-genetic studies have not led to a breakthrough in either the diagnosis or the treatment of cancers. The role of oncogenes in carcinogenesis is still unclear, as is their usefulness in the diagnosis of human cancers. On other hand is it known that the immune system "sees" actively growing cancer. This is manifested, in particular, in the increased production of antibodies to the antigens associated with tumor cells. It is tempting to use such antibodies for the early diagnosis of cancer. In the present review, we discuss the concept of oncogenes and summarize the current approaches for the early detection of human cancers based on antibodies arrays.

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