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View the Table of Contents for the February 1 issue of Cancer Research.
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The magnitude and breadth of the p53-specific T-cell repertoire may be restricted due to the ubiquitous expression of wild-type p53 in normal somatic tissues. In view of the importance of the CD4+ T-helper (Th) cell responses in effective antitumor immunity, Lauwen and colleagues analyzed and compared the p53-specific reactivity of this T-cell subset in p53+/+ and p53–/– C57Bl/6 mice. Immunization of p53–/– and p53+/+ mice with synthetic peptide vaccines comprising the identified epitopes induced equal levels of Th1 immunity in both mouse types. Their findings imply that the p53-specific CD4+ T-cell repertoire is not restricted by self-tolerance and thus may be fully available for the immunologic targeting of cancer.
Hwang et al. Page 918 The tumor-associated stroma is increasingly recognized to play an important role in tumor progression; however, relatively little is known about its contribution to pancreatic cancer, which is characterized by a very dense desmoplastic stroma. Hwang and colleagues isolated and immortalized primary pancreatic stellate cells from the stroma of human pancreatic cancer and found that stellate cell–conditioned media promoted pancreatic cancer cell progression in vitro. In an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic stellate cells co-injected with tumor cells resulted in increased tumor growth, metastasis, and initiation in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, secreted factors from pancreatic stromal fibroblasts may provide new targets for inhibiting pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis.
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Wallace et al. Page 927 Mortality rates from prostate cancer are significantly higher in African-Americans when compared with European-Americans. Differences in innate tumor biology may contribute to this survival health disparity. Wallace and colleagues compared the gene expression patterns of prostate tumors in these populations and observed numerous differences between African-American and European-American patients. Notably, several known metastasis-promoting genes were more highly expressed in African-Americans. Disease association and pathway analyses revealed a common relationship of the differently expressed transcripts with tumor immunobiology programs. Together, the data suggest the existence of a distinct tumor microenvironment in the two patient groups, which could partially account for this well established health disparity in prostate cancer survival.
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