Cancer-specific T cell receptor isolation for cancer immunotherapy.

Background Malignant cells may be recognised by T cells binding cell surface Class I HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen)-peptide complexes presenting disease-associated epitopes. Many cancer patients have been shown to generate CD8 cytotoxic T cell responses to tumour-associated antigens. However, this is often insufficient for the immune system to clear tumours, resulting in the progression of cancer. This is in part due to the low avidity of these T cells, as well as the ability of cancer cells to develop escape mechanisms to avoid destruction by T cells.