Identification of breast cancer neoantigens using in silico methodologies

Introduction: Cancer is a group of diseases that involve abnormal cell growth, with potential to invade and spread to other parts of the body forming secondary tumors, called metastasis. Neoplasms are the main cause of death in the world, mainly due to the metastasis. In Brazil, there are more than 600.000 new cases in 2018, and breast cancer is the most frequent among Brazilian women. The most promising therapies, at the time, to combat this disease are immunotherapies, which deal with the manipulation of the immune system to better respond against the tumor and eliminate it. Some metastatic cancers, such as breast cancer, are poorly immunogenic and therefore difficult to eradicate. However, specific mutations in tumor proteins can be considered as targets for cancer immunotherapy, since it could be recognized as neoantigens by host T cells, allowing the development of therapeutic vaccines.