The Role of the Immune Response in the Establishment and Rejection of Neoplastic Tissue

Abstract

A hypothesis is proposed which relates the establishment and rejection of neoplastic tissue to the immune response. The establishment of the tumor clone depends upon the presence of circulating """enhancing" antibody. Coating of the aberrant cell types by this antibody prevents the defense mechanisms relying on cell-cell contact from exerting their protective effects. The proposed hypothesis is not involved with the events associated with the formation of the tumor cell, but is directed to those immunological factors which govern the establishment or rejection of neoplastic tissue. It can be inferred from this hypothesis that extreme care must be employed in evaluating potential cancer vaccines.