The immune response to prostate cancer: An evaluation and a review

Abstract

The effects of stage and therapy of prostate cancer on the immune response were evaluated in 193 patients with an histologic diagnosis of prostatic malignancy. There was little or no effect, as measured by these generally non-specific tests, on the immune response. The host-tumor immune interaction is difficult to evaluate in prostate cancer. The complexities of measuring prostate tumor immunity are discussed and the literature is reviewed.

Immune-based therapies for prostate cancer

“…For example, Smith initially reported that the prostate gland is devoid of afferent lymphatics [4]. Moreover, non-specific tests of immune function, such as T cell rosette formation, T cell blastogenic response to mitogen stimulation, and DTH responses to common recall antigens, were all found to be reduced in patients with prostate cancer [5,6]. Other studies documented the reduction of MHC class I molecules in metastatic prostate cancer lesions, the disruption of the TAP transporter machinery in human prostate cancer cell lines, and the overexpression of TGF␤ by prostate cancer cells as multiple possible mechanisms of prostate cancer escape from immune detection [7].…”