title: Bispecific T-cell engaging antibodies for cancer therapy.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that T cells are able to control tumor growth and survival in cancer patients, both in early and late stages of the disease. However, tumor-specific T-cell responses are difficult to mount and sustain in cancer patients, and are limited by numerous immune escape mechanisms of tumor cells selected during immunoediting. An alternative approach to engage T cells for cancer therapy are antibodies, which are bispecific for a surface target antigen on cancer cells, and for CD3 on T cells. These are capable of connecting any kind of cytotoxic T cell to a cancer cell, independently of T-cell receptor specificity, costimulation, or peptide antigen presentation. Here, we review the principle of a new class of bispecific antibodies called BiTE (for "bispecific T-cell engager") antibodies. Recent results from clinical studies with a CD19/CD3-bispecific BiTE antibody suggest that this therapeutic paradigm is finally showing promise for treatment of both bulky and minimal residual disease.
authors.affiliation: Micromet Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA. patrick.baeuerle@micromet-inc.com
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Baeuerle
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
mesh_terms: D018033:Antibodies, Bispecific / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018033:Antibodies, Bispecific