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9.4 Tumor Immunology — Test 1
Q1. Immune surveillance against cancer is the concept that:✓ The immune system continuously detects and eliminates transformed cells
Q2. Tumour-specific antigens differ from tumour-associated antigens in that tumour-specific antigens are:✓ Unique to tumour cells (e.g. from mutations), not on normal cells
Q3. The principal effector cells that kill tumour cells displaying antigen on MHC class I are:✓ Cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells
Q4. NK cells are important against tumours that:✓ Downregulate MHC class I to evade cytotoxic T cells
Q5. Tumours evade immune destruction by all of the following mechanisms EXCEPT:✓ Increasing co-stimulatory molecule expression
Q6. Immune checkpoint inhibitors treat cancer by:✓ Blocking inhibitory receptors (PD-1, CTLA-4) to restore T-cell activity
Q7. CAR-T cell therapy works by:✓ Engineering a patient's T cells to express a receptor targeting a tumour antigen
Q8. The three phases of cancer immunoediting are:✓ Elimination, equilibrium and escape
Q9. Tumour-associated antigens such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are useful clinically as:✓ Tumour markers for diagnosis or monitoring
Q10. Therapeutic cancer vaccines aim to:✓ Stimulate the patient's immune system to attack existing tumour cells
Q11. Some preventive vaccines reduce cancer incidence by:✓ Preventing infection with oncogenic viruses (e.g. HPV, HBV)
Q12. Regulatory T cells within tumours typically:✓ Suppress anti-tumour immune responses, aiding tumour growth
Q13. A high tumour mutational burden tends to make a cancer more responsive to checkpoint inhibitors because it:✓ Generates more neoantigens for T cells to recognise
Q14. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) is used by therapeutic antibodies (e.g. rituximab) to:✓ Recruit NK cells to kill antibody-coated tumour cells
Q15. Loss of MHC class I expression helps a tumour evade CTLs but creates a vulnerability to:✓ NK-cell killing
Q16. Immunocompromised individuals (e.g. transplant or HIV patients) have higher rates of certain cancers, supporting the idea of:✓ Immune surveillance against cancer
Q17. The immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment can include:✓ Tregs, M2 macrophages and inhibitory cytokines (TGF-β, IL-10)
Q18. A neoantigen is best defined as:✓ A novel antigen arising from tumour mutations, absent from normal cells
Q19. Why might a growing tumour still progress despite an anti-tumour immune response?✓ Immunoediting selects tumour variants that escape immune control
Q20. The therapeutic monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin), used in certain breast cancers, acts by:✓ Targeting the HER2 receptor on HER2-positive tumour cells
Q21. Match each tumour-immunology term with its description and select the correct option.✓ A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii