It has been demonstrated that CD8 positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize epitope peptides derived from the tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) found on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, and then kill the tumor cells. Since the discovery of the melanoma antigen (MAGE) family as the first example of TAAs, many other TAAs have been discovered, primarily through immunological approaches (Boon T, Int J Cancer 1993 May 8, 54(2): 177-80; Boon T & van der Bruggen P, J Exp Med 1996 Mar. 1, 183(3): 725-9). Some of these TAAs are currently undergoing clinical development as immunotherapeutic targets.
Identification of new TAAs capable of inducing potent and specific anti-tumor immune responses, warrants further development and clinical application of peptide vaccination strategies for various types of cancer (Harris C C, J Natl Cancer Inst 1996 Oct. 16, 88(20): 1442-55; Butterfield L H et al., Cancer Res 1999 Jul. 1, 59(13): 3134-42; Vissers J L et al., Cancer Res 1999 Nov. 1, 59(21): 5554-9; van der Burg S H et al., J Immunol 1996 May 1, 156(9): 3308-14; Tanaka F et al., Cancer Res 1997 Oct. 15, 57(20): 4465-8; Fujie T et al., Int J Cancer 1999 Jan. 18, 80(2): 169-72; Kikuchi M et al., Int J Cancer 1999 May 5, 81(3): 459-66; Oiso M et al., Int J Cancer 1999 May 5, 81(3): 387-94). To date, there have been several reports of clinical trials using these tumor-associated antigen derived peptides. Unfortunately, only a low objective response rate has been observed in these cancer vaccine trials so far (Belli F et al., J Clin Oncol 2002 Oct. 15, 20(20): 4169-80; Coulie P G et al., Immunol Rev 2002 October, 188: 33-42; Rosenberg S A et al., Nat Med 2004 September, 10(9): 909-15).
TAAs which are indispensable for proliferation and survival of cancer cells are valiant as targets for immunotherapy, because the use of such TAAs may minimize the well-described risk of immune escape of cancer cells attributable to deletion, mutation, or down-regulation of TAAs as a consequence of therapeutically driven immune selection.
CDCA1, cell division cycle associated 1, was identified as a member of a class of genes that are coexpressed with cell cycle genes, such as CDC2, cyclin, topoisomerase II and the others (Walker et al., Curr Cancer Drug Targets 2001 May; 1(1):73-83). CDCA1 in particular was found to be associated with centromeres of mitotic HeLa cells and was therefore considered a functional homologue of yeast Nuf2 (J Cell Biol 2001 Jan. 22; 152(2):349-60).
In addition, through gene expression profile analysis using a genome-wide cDNA microarray containing 23,040 genes (Cancer Res 2006 Nov. 1; 66(21):10339-48), CDCA1 has also been identified as a novel molecule up-regulated in breast cancer (WO2005/028676), bladder cancer (WO2006/085684), esophageal cancer (WO2007/013671), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (WO2007/013665) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (WO2005/089735), the contents of such disclosure being incorporated by reference herein. Expression of CDCA1 was particularly up-regulated in SCLC, NSCLC and tumor cell lines, though no expression was detected except testis among 23 normal tissues. Furthermore, down-regulation of CDCA1 expression by siRNA caused cell growth suppression in CDCA1 expressing lung cancer cell lines (WO2005/089735).
Taken together, this data suggests that CDCA1 is a novel, potentially universal oncoantigen. Accordingly, epitope peptides derived from CDCA1 may be applicable as cancer immunotherapeutics for the treatment of a wide array of cancers.