The present invention pertains to novel high avidity antigen recognizing constructs, such as antibodies or T cell receptors, which specifically bind to the melanoma associated antigen (MAGE) A1. The constructs of the invention are particularly useful for the diagnosis, prevention or therapy of tumorous diseases which are characterized by the specific expression of the MAGE-A1 antigen. Furthermore provided are nucleic acids, vectors and host cells—such as CD4 or CD8 positive T cells—which encode, comprise or present the antigen recognizing constructs of the invention. The invention thus provides new means for immune therapy, specifically adoptive T cell therapy, for treating cancer.
