Monoclonal antibody-directed cytotoxic therapy - Potential in malignant diseases of aging

The advent of monoclonal antibodies has allowed the development of tumour directed therapies utilising antibody-dependent effector mechanisms and immunoconjugates (e.g. drug, isotope and toxin coupled antibodies) against human malignancies. Preclinical studies in mouse tumour models have been most impressive and have led to numerous clinical trials. Whereas the majority of these phase I/II trials have been less impressive, a few trials have shown efficacy in highly pre-treated refractory patients and have led to phase III trials. The therapeutic monoclonal antibodies examined in these trials will become clinically available in the near future. In this review, various methods of utilising antibody-directed anticancer strategies are presented, with emphasis on recent advances in the field. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods together with the role of antibody-directed therapeutics in cancer management are discussed.