Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

Monoclonal antibody therapy is the use of monoclonal antibodies (or mAb) to specifically bind to target cells or proteins. This may then stimulate the patient's immune system to attack those cells. It is possible to create a mAb specific to almost any extracellular/ cell surface target, and thus there is a large amount of research and development currently being undergone to create monoclonals for numerous serious diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and different types of cancers). There are a number of ways that mAbs can be used for therapy. For example: mAb therapy can be used to destroy malignant tumor cells and prevent tumor growth by blocking specific cell receptors. Variations also exist within this treatment, e.g. radioimmunotherapy, where a radioactive dose localizes on target cell line, delivering lethal chemical doses to the target.