Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul 20;9(3):34.
doi: 10.3390/antib9030034.

Monoclonal Antibodies in Cancer Therapy

David Zahavi  1 , Louis Weiner  2
Affiliations
Review

Monoclonal Antibodies in Cancer Therapy

David Zahavi et al. Antibodies (Basel). .

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapy is now considered to be a main component of cancer therapy, alongside surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Monoclonal antibodies possess a diverse set of clinically relevant mechanisms of action. In addition, antibodies can directly target tumor cells while simultaneously promoting the induction of long-lasting anti-tumor immune responses. The multifaceted properties of antibodies as a therapeutic platform have led to the development of new cancer treatment strategies that will have major impacts on cancer care. This review focuses on the known mechanisms of action, current clinical applications for the treatment of cancer, and mechanisms of resistance of monoclonal antibody therapy. We further discuss how monoclonal antibody-based strategies have moved towards enhancing anti-tumor immune responses by targeting immune cells instead of tumor antigens as well as some of the current combination therapies.

Keywords: antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC); cancer; immune checkpoint blockade (ICB); immunology; monoclonal antibody.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Antibody effector mechanisms. ADCC: antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity; CDC: complement-dependent cytotoxicity; ADCP: antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Immune checkpoint targets of monoclonal antibodies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Behring E.V. Ueber das Zustandekommen der Diphtherie-Immunitüt und der Tetanus-Immunitüt bei Thieren. Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. 1890 doi: 10.1055/s-0029-1207589. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Van Epps H.L. How Heidelberger and Avery Sweetened Immunology. J. Exp. Med. 2005;202:1306. doi: 10.1084/jem20210fta. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fagraeus A. Plasma Cellular Reaction and Its Relation to the Formation of Antibodies in Vitro. Nature. 1947;159:499. doi: 10.1038/159499a0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nossal G.J.V., Lederberg J. Antibody Production by Single Cells. Nature. :1958. doi: 10.1038/1811419a0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schwaber J., Cohen E.P. Human × Mouse Somatic Cell Hybrid Clone Secreting Immunoglobulins of Both Parental Types. Nature. 1973;244:444–447. doi: 10.1038/244444a0. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources