Taking aim at cancer with monoclonal antibodies

Conjugating radioisotopes to monoclonal antibodies could have certain advantages in cancer therapy. Radioactive compounds have the double-edged ability to kill cells that are up to centimeter or more away. This is a plausible way to overcome tumor heterogeneity, but it also means that normal cells near the tumor could be affected. Hybritech (San Diego, CA) has been supplying antibody linked to the radioisotope yttrium-90 for a number of clinical trials. Work at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) has focused on polyclonal antibodies to hepatoma. Monoclonal antibodies will be used there soon, and trials could be expanded eventually to include breast, lung, and prostate cancer as well. Hybritech also expects that the yttrium-antibody conjugates developed with NCI will enter the clinic later this year for treating leukemia and lymphoma systems; treatments for melanomas should follow