Yorran Hardman Araújo Montenegro, Anderson dos Santos Ramos and Geilza Carla de Lima Silva
Cancer is a heterogeneous disease, the result of the specific combination of genetic and epigenetic changes in somatic cells, occurring as a cumulative process throughout the life of the human organism. The immune system is specialized to act in defense of our body, with potential of specific destruction without toxicity to the normal tissue. In the tumor context, this system acts both by actions of recognition and inhibition of development, as well as in tumor control through the interaction with cells that promote oncogenesis. As criteria to perform a systematic review of the literature understanding the relevance of the systemic-immune interaction and cancer, we select articles in the English language, with a descriptive an/or experimental design. Recognition of a tumor can be accomplished by identifying oncofetal antigens, proteins with altered structural conformation, abnormal expression of surface carbohydrates, as well as increased expression of proteins found in normal cells. In view of this recognition, antitumor responses may be cellular and/or humoral in nature, where cells of the immune system act by means of cytotoxic activity, or by releasing effector molecules. Like all immunological efforts, tumor cells are able to bypass the immune system through mutations in key molecules, loss of antigenicity and immunogenicity, changes in carbohydrate patterns, immunosuppressive activity of the tumor microenvironment, among others. Understanding the relationships between immune cells and cancer cells is essential for understanding the dynamics of cancer.
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