EpCAM (CD326) finding its role in cancer

Abstract

Although epithelial cell adhesion/activating molecule (EpCAM/CD326) is one of the first tumour-associated antigens identified, it has never received the same level of attention as other target proteins for therapy of cancer. It is also striking that ever since its discovery in the late 1970s the actual contribution of EpCAM to carcinogenesis remained unexplored until very recently. With a First International Symposium on EpCAM Biology and Clinical Application this is now changing. Key topics discussed at the meeting were the frequency and level of EpCAM expression on various cancers and its prognostic potential, the role of EpCAM as an oncogenic signalling molecule for cancer cells, recent progress on EpCAM-directed immunotherapeutic approaches in clinical development and the interaction of EpCAM with other proteins, which may provide a basis for a therapeutic window and repression of its growthpromoting signalling in carcinoma. Future research on EpCAM may benefit from a unified nomenclature and more frequent exchange among those who have been working on this cancer target during the past 30 years and will do so in the future.

Lysis of cancer cells by autologous T cells in breast cancer pleural effusates treated with anti-EpCAM BiTE antibody MT110

“…The present study shows that breast cancer cells in pleural exudates frequently express the tumor-associated antigen EpCAM (CD326) providing a rationale for treatment of metastatic breast cancer with EpCAM-directed antibody-based therapeutic approaches [42,43] with the capacity of recruiting and activating T cells against EpCAM-expressing cancer cells [24] is here shown to redirect autologous T cells-as are found in the cellular milieu of malignant pleural effusions-for efficient lysis of carcinoma cells. This lysis was highly specific, dependent on the dose of MT110, similar as shown for the anti-Ep-CAM treatment of primary ovarian cells [44].…”

Cancer spheres from gastric cancer patients provide an ideal model system for cancer stem cell research

“…Taken together, these results suggest that CD44 can be a surface marker for gastric cancer stem cells. EpCAM is a glycosylated, 30-40-kDa type I membrane protein that is expressed in a variety of human epithelial tissues, cancers, and progenitor cells and embryonic stem cells [43][44][45][46]. Because EpCAM is expressed on essentially all human adenocarcinomas, it was used as a marker to identify disseminated cancerous cells in the circulation to predict matastasis and recurrence of the tumor [47,48].…”

Molecular imaging with nanoparticles: giant roles for dwarf actors

“…A third class of speciWc molecules for targeting are the cell surface adhesion molecules, which also are often expressed in especially high concentrations at the surfaces of tumour cells. EpCam (CD326), one of the Wrst tumour-associated antigens identiWed (Baeuerle and Gires 2007), is overexpressed in a wide range of tumours including breast carcinomas (Osta et al 2004), urothelial carcinomas (Brunner et al 2008), pancreatic carcinomas (Fong et al 2008), and hepatocellular carcinomas (Yamashita et al 2007). This list represents only a small selection amongst the many lesionspeciWc ligand-receptor pairs that can be considered for use as targeting systems in diagnostic molecular imaging.…”