Antibodies and their multivalent constructs for cancer therapy

Abstract

In 2008 cancer was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of four threats to human health and development. Since the early published reports of the first chemotherapeutic, mustine, in 1946, the anti-cancer drug and development industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar business enterprise. Worldwide, the rates of new cancer cases and deaths has been steadily increasing each year, with the estimation by the WHO-sponsored GLOBOCAN cancer database, that at current rates, nearly 13 million cancer deaths will be reported in 2030. The recent successes of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), an important class of glycoprotein, and their multivalent and drug conjugated derivatives over the past 30 years have led to the approval of 12 monoclonal antibodies for use in cancer treatment by the FDA. Modern recombinant and engineering techniques have led to an explosion of antibody platforms that can be attributed to great gains in clinical efficacy. This review discusses and outlines a sample of mAbs currently approved for cancer treatment by the FDA, as well as antibody platforms in the research pipeline and clinic that have been engineered for greater tumor penetration, binding, and efficacy.