High throughput proteomic strategies for identifying tumour-associated antigens

Tumours elicit an immune response in the host organism and this area has been studied for decades. Initially, tumour-associated antigens were studied by examining a few proteins at a time using techniques such as 1-D SDS–PAGE and sandwich ELISAs. Now, however, with the development of high-throughput strategies, multiple potential antigens in a single experiment could be uncovered. The prevailing view is that these antigens can be used as biosensors for cancers. In addition, some of these antigens may indeed be used as targets for immunotherapy. SEREX, SERPA, and protein microarray technology have been the three dominant strategies employed to identify tumour-associated antigens. In this mini-review, we aim to describe these three techniques and provide their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, we aim to address some of the challenges of cancer immunomics.