Abstract
This chapter discusses the basic principles of antitumor antibody and vaccine development with illustrative examples of agents currently in clinical use. The realm of antibody-based cancer immunotherapeutics is divided into two categories, including unmodified monoclonal antibodies with cytotoxic, regulatory, and immunization properties, and immunoconjugates. The most significant developments in antibody-based cancer immunotherapeutics has been the discovery of monoclonal antibodies demonstrating direct anti-tumor cytotoxic properties. Immunotoxins represent the largest component of the immunoconjugate effort. Cancer vaccines represent an attempt to actively immunize patients against single or multiple tumor-specific antigens. The role of immune adjuvants in the cancer vaccine is to enhance the immunogenicity of the antigen. An example of a tumor-specific antigen containing immunodominant peptides capable of stimulating anti-tumor T-cell responses is MAGE-1. The MAGE-1 antigen is encoded by a gene spanning 5 kb, and the 2419 base pair sequence produces a predicted protein product of 26 kDa.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Novel Anticancer Agents |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 207-221 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780120885619 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
