Cleaved CDCP1 marks the spot: a neoepitope for RAS-driven cancers

A challenge in cancer treatment is targeting cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Thus, identifying cancer-specific neoepitopes is an active research area. Neoepitopes are generated by the accumulation of mutations; however, deadly cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, have a low mutational burden and, consequently, a paucity of neoantigens. In this issue of the JCI, Lim, Zhou, and colleagues describe a neoepitope generated upon proteolytic cleavage of the transmembrane CUB domain containing protein 1 (CDCP1). CDCP1 is overexpressed in cancer and portends a worse prognosis; previous attempts to target CDCP1 reduced cancer growth, but adversely affected the host. Here, the authors generated an antibody that specifically targeted cleaved CDCP1 (c-CDCP1) and developed a drug conjugate, a vector for radioactive ions, and a mediator of T cell activation. The therapeutics inhibited pancreatic cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Exploiting proteolytic cleavage-derived neoantigens opens an attractive way for specifically targeting cancer cells.