Like a fugitive from justice, cancer cells stake their survival on their ability to remain inconspicuous. In many cases, however, they are decked out in molecules – called tumor-associated antigens and neoantigens – that shout “cancer!” to the immune system and prompt a potent antitumor response.
But tumor cells have other means of dodging an attack. To a degree that any band of outlaws would envy, tumors are often able to manipulate the strength and scope of the immune reaction, orchestrating the mix of T cells that converge on them.
