Heat shock proteins hsps are overexpressed in a wide range of human cancers and are implicated in tumor cell proliferation differentiation invasion metastasis death and recognition by the immune system we review the current status of the role of hsp expression in cancer with special emphasis on the clinical setting. Heat shock proteins hsps are an evolutionary family of proteins that act as molecular chaperones according to their size they have been classified into the following families hsp90 hsp70 hsp60 hsp40 and hsp27 they prevent the formation of nonspecific protein aggregates and they assist protei . Heat shock proteins in cancer immunotherapy 1 introduction cells respond to stressful conditions by activating stress response proteins that promote cellular 2 role of hsps in cancer hsps are highly expressed in various types of carcinomas the levels of circulating hsps 3 hsps as . Chester medical school highlights the importance of heat shock proteins hsps in cancer cells and how we might utilise them therapeutically heat shock proteins hsps were originally identified as heat inducible gene products that had a role in cell survival