Table 1.

Classification of tumor-associated antigens.

Type of antigens	Antigen characteristics	Example of human tumor antigens
Cancer-germline	Expressed only by tumor cells and adult reproductive tissues	MAGE, BAGE, GAGE, NY-ESO-1
Differentiation	Expressed by tumors and a limited range of normal tissues	Tyrosinase, Melan-A, gp100, CEA, MART-1
Overexpressed	Expressed by both normal and tumor cells, but much highly expressed in tumor cells	HER2, WT1, MUC1, ppCT
Viral	Expressed only by tumor cells as a result of viral infection	HPV, HBV, EBV, HTLV