Which statement best summarizes tumor development via immunoediting?

• A. Tumor cells produce cytokines that are toxic to T cells.
• B. Tumor cells that can escape the immune system have a growth advantage over tumor cells that are destroyed during immunosurveillance.
• C. T-cell activity causes an increase in MHC expression on tumor cells that allows them to escape the immune system.
• D. Secreted tumor-associated antigen saturates T-cell receptors and makes T cells incapable of binding to tumor cells.

Answer: (B)

Immunoediting is the process by which the immune system shapes tumor development, applying selective pressure that favors cancer cells able to evade immune destruction. It unfolds in stages—elimination, equilibrium, and escape—but the essential idea is that tumor cells that escape immune attack gain a growth advantage over those destroyed during immunosurveillance. Over time, immune pressure selects for less immunogenic or more evasive clones, allowing them to grow unchecked.

This is why the statement that tumor cells capable of escaping the immune system have a growth advantage best captures the concept. In contrast, increasing MHC expression would make tumor cells more visible to T cells, not escape; saturating T-cell receptors with soluble tumor antigens doesn’t reflect the core selective process of immunoediting; and while tumors can secrete immunosuppressive factors, the key idea is the selective survival and expansion of escape variants under immune pressure.