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Review
. 2024 Feb 28:16:51-70.
doi: 10.2147/BCTT.S448191. eCollection 2024.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review of How to Selectively Deliver Payloads

Mariana Ribeiro Monteiro  1   2 , Natalia Cristina Cardoso Nunes  3 , Aumilto Augusto da Silva Junior  4 , Angelo Bezerra de Souza Fêde  5 , Gustavo de Oliveira Bretas  6 , Cristiano de Pádua Souza  7 , Max Mano  8 , Jesse Lopes da Silva  6   9   10
Affiliations
Review

Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review of How to Selectively Deliver Payloads

Mariana Ribeiro Monteiro et al. Breast Cancer (Dove Med Press). .

Abstract

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have surfaced as a promising group of anticancer agents employing the precise targeting capacity of monoclonal antibodies to transport highly effective cytotoxic payloads. Compared to conventional chemotherapy, they aim to selectively eradicate cancer cells while minimizing off-target toxicity on healthy tissues. An increasing body of evidence has provided support for the efficacy of ADCs in treating breast cancer across various contexts and tumor subtypes, resulting in significant changes in clinical practice. Nevertheless, unlocking the full potential of these therapeutic agents demands innovative molecular designs to address complex clinical challenges, including drug resistance, tumor heterogeneity, and treatment-related adverse events. This thorough review provides an in-depth analysis of the clinical data on ADCs, offering crucial insights from pivotal clinical trials that assess the efficacy of ADCs in diverse breast cancer settings. This aids in providing a comprehensive understanding of the current state of ADCs in breast cancer therapy, while also providing valuable perspectives for the future.

Keywords: ADCs; antibody–drug conjugates; breast cancer; cancer therapy; target therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Gustavo Bretas reports personal fees, non-financial support from Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, Roche, and Eli-Lilly, outside the submitted work. Dr Max Mano reports personal fees for lectures, advisory boards and/or travel grants from AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Roche (also Principal Investigator for clinical trials), Novartis, Lilly, Pfizer (also Principal Investigator for clinical trials), Gilead, MD Health, and MSD, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure and Mechanism of Action of Antibody-Drug Conjugates in the Treatment of Breast Cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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