Classification of cancer antigens

Type of antigens Antigen characteristics Example of human tumor antigens
Cancer-germline Expressed by tumor cells and adult reproductive tissues MAGE, BAGE, NY-ESO-1
Differentiation Expressed by tumors cells and a limited range of normal tissues Tyrosinase, Melan-A/MART-1, Gp100, CEA
Overexpressed Highly expressed in tumor cells and few in some normal tissues EGFR, HER2, MUC1
Mutant neoantigens Mutant antigens, expressed only by tumor cells as a result of mutation, patient-specific p53, Ras, BCR-ABL, ACTN4
TEIPP neoantigens Non-mutated antigens expressed by tumor cells with APM defects ppCT, LRPAP1
Viral antigens Expressed only by tumor cells as a result of viral infection HPV E6–E7, EBV, HBV, HTVL

EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor; HER2: human EGFR 2; ppCT: preprocalcitonin; HPV: human papillomavirus; EBV: Epstein-Barr virus; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HTVL: human T cell leukemia virus; APM: antigen presentation machinery; BAGE: B melanoma antigen; NY-ESO-1: New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1; Gp100: glycoprotein 100; CEA: carcinoembryonic antigen; MUC1: mucin 1; p53: tumor protein 53; BCR-ABL: breakpoint cluster region and abelson oncogene; LRPAP1: LDL-receptor-related protein-associated protein 1; ACTN4: actinin 4