Radiotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radiotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects.

Antibody pretargeting advances cancer radioimmunodetection and radioimmunotherapy.

Goldenberg DM, Sharkey RM, Paganelli G, Barbet J, Chatal JF

Garden State Cancer Center, Center for Molecular Medicine and Immunology, Belleville, NJ 07109, USA. dmg.gscancer@att.net

This article reviews the methods of pretargeting, which involve separating the targeting antibody from the subsequent delivery of an imaging or therapeutic agent that binds to the tumor-localized antibody. This provides enhanced tumor:background ratios and the delivery of a higher therapeutic dose than when antibodies are directly conjugated with radionuclides, as currently practiced in cancer radioimmunotherapy. We describe initial promising clinical results using streptavidin-antibody constructs with biotin-radionuclide conjugates in the treatment of patients with malignant gliomas, and of bispecific antibodies with hapten-radionuclides in the therapy of tumors expressing carcinoembryonic antigen, such as medullary thyroid and small-cell lung cancers.

Published 10 February 2006 in J Clin Oncol, 24(5): 823-34.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Radiotherapy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.