Anti-tumor monoclonal antibodies: New insights to elicit a long-term immune response

Abstract

Tumor-targeting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are now widely used for the treatment of cancer patients and their numbers are constantly increasing. Over the past ten years, numerous studies have demonstrated that the anti-tumor role of these antibodies far exceeds that of passive therapies as it was initially described, with the possibility of recruiting innate immune cells to promote activation of the early stages of immune response and to generate a long-term protective antitumor memory immune response. Understanding these mechanisms has recently led to the clinical development of a new generation of anti-tumor antibodies modified to increase their ability to interact with immune cells. Finally, the first preclinical and clinical studies have recently demonstrated the interest of developing therapeutic combinations combining anti-tumor mAbs with immune-, chemo- or radiotherapy, to reinforce their immunomodulatory potential and ensure effective and durable anti-tumor protection.