A bright future for antibody cancer therapy

Antibodies, once touted as the ‘magic bullets’ of cancer care, are now fulfilling that promise and more advances are on the way, say cancer researchers at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. In a review article in Cell, the researchers say that refinements and modifications of antibody drugs, several of which are already treating breast and colon cancer, are now being tested in most tumor types. These modifications allow antibody drugs to bind to more than one target on a cell, and to directly stimulate the body’s immune response to promote vaccine-like antitumor effects. Others have been designed to boost their killing power by carrying a payload of radiation, toxins, or other chemicals. ‘We are heading into an era where antibodies will not just be components of an effective therapeutic strategy, they will be at the core of an oncologist’s treatment plan for patients,” says the review’s lead author, Louis M. Weiner, director of Georgetown Lombardi.