Monoclonal Antibodies Cancer Treatment

Growing MOABs in the lab

When used as anti-cancer agents, monoclonal antibodies (MOABs) are proteins that have the ability to attach themselves to a single, specified tumor cell within the body by the antigen found on the cell surface¹. Every type of cell in the body, along with bacteria and viruses, has an antigen marker on its surface so that your body can differentiate between one and another.²

What it's effective for and why

Monoclonal antibodies are used alone or in combination with other therapies including chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat various types of cancer and certain autoimmune disorders. Their anti-cancer efficacy derives from their ability to work like magic bullets, seeking out and killing tumor cells to the exclusion of most other cells in the body.

There are several MOABs currently FDA-approved for anti-cancer treatment, including Mylotarg (gemtuzumab), Campath (alemtuzumab), Rituxan (rituximab), Herceptin (trastuzumab), Erbitux (cetuximab), Avastin (bevacizumab), Bexxar (tositumomab) and Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan). These are approved to treat forms of leukemia, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.

MOABs are believed to hold tremendous promise in the ongoing fight against all cancers and are currently being investigated as potential treatments for types of blood and skin cancers, as well as cancers of the brain, lung, kidney, colon, rectum, ovary, thyroid and prostate.³

Side effects: Overview

By definition, MOABs are not chemotherapeutic agents, even though they are often used in combination with those drugs. Whereas chemotherapy drugs are considered cytostatic (cyto = cell, static = interference; they interfere with a selected phase of the cell cycle), in general MOABs kill tumor cells by inducing apoptosis, or programmed cell death—a natural process that every cell is supposed to go through but which cancer cells manage to avoid.

Because MOABs identify and kill only specified cells, they tend not to cause the widespread side effects seen in chemotherapeutic drugs. Still, depending on the monoclonal antibody, side effects can range from nausea and vomiting, back pain, night sweats, fatigue, weakness, or even signs of infection.

Additionally, at least three MOABs—Rituxan, Raptiva, and Tysabri—have been preliminarily linked to a fatal brain virus known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Of the three, only Raptiva has been withdrawn from the market.⁴

References

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