While the underlying mechanism of these observations needs to be elucidated, it is tempting to speculate that this represents an escape mechanism, by which the tumors attempt to evade the immune cells: Upon upregulation of CD54, whose binding partner LFA is expressed on T cells, the tumor cells immobilize T cells after which secondary inhibitory molecules such as CD39 suppress T cell function. The gene discussed is ICAM1; the disease is neoplasm.