New approaches to antibody therapy

Antibody-based therapy of human cancers has led to several remarkable outcomes, particularly in the therapy of breast cancer and lymphoma. Many solid tumors have proven less responsive, due in part to difficulties in the tumor-selective delivery of antibodies and potential cytolytic effectors. However, antibodies that directly perturb signaling mechanisms in cells derived from epithelial malignancies have shown benefit; examples include antibodies directed against the extracellular domains of HER2/neu and epidermal growth factor receptor. A long-term goal of immunotherapy has been to induce anti-tumor inflammatory responses that can directly cause tumor regression or induce adaptive responses against tumor-related antigens. This review focuses on the use of antibodies to provide a means for initiating anti-tumor immune responses, and on the use of antibodies as delivery vehicles of radionuclides.