Immunotherapies aimed at promoting anti-tumor immune responses are being developed for tumors of many different tissue or cell-type origins. Interestingly, some of these approaches, when tested in clinical trials, were found to also cause patients to develop autoimmune symptoms related to their tumor type. For instance, in patients with malignant skin cancer (melanoma), immunotherapy treatment can develop an autoimmune disorder known as vitiligo, in which T cells attack and destroy melanocytes in the skin, causing depigmentation. These findings indicate that, in some individuals the melanoma-specific anti-tumor T cell responses are directed at:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The development of vitiligo in patients undergoing immunotherapy for melanoma suggests that the anti-tumor T cell responses are directed at proteins normally expressed in melanocytes, leading to autoimmune destruction of these cells. The other options (A, B, C, and E) do not directly relate to the usual expression pattern of melanocytes and are less likely to be responsible for the autoimmune response.

Immunotherapies Aimed at Promoting Anti-Tumor Immune Responses Are Being Developed