Tumor Immunity. A Brief Review

Abstract

The experiments which we shall describe at some length in chapter IV deal with the ability of mice to overcome, by immunological means, the implantation of otherwise lethal numbers of tumor cells. Such phenomena clearly belong to the realm of tumor immunology. The transplantation of tumors usually follows the same rules that govern the transplantation of normal tissues. Failure to realize this has lead to some confusion in the past. In the words of Medawar: “Nearly everyone who supposed that he was using transplantation to study tumors was in fact using tumors to study transplantation — not always to very good effect.” (Medawar, 1958). We have already indicated in the introduction that we have more or less inadvertently stumbled into this complicated and controversial field. Fortunately for us, the subject abounds in excellent reviews. We shall attempt in the following pages to discuss some of the facets of transplantation immunology which we believe to be pertinent to our problems. We must, however, refer the reader to a number of review articles for a more balanced account: Transplantation immunity (Amos, 1962; Hellström and Möller, 1965); Transplantation antigens (Amos, 1964); Tumor-specific antigens (Old and Boyse, 1964; Sjögren, 1965); Immunocompetent cells (Gowans and McGregor, 1965); Antibody and graft rejection (Stetson, 1963); Enhancement (Voisin, 1963; Kaliss, 1965); Tolerance (Dietrich, 1964 a); Carcinogenesis (Potter, 1964; Temin, 1966).