title: Treatment of ovarian cancer by monoclonal antibodies.
abstract: Despite the recent advances in its management using cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy, ovarian cancer remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy. One possible treatment strategy that may improve patient outcome is the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that selectively target tumor cells expressing tumor-associated antigens, and thus offer potential benefits such as avoiding the cytotoxic side effects in normal tissue caused by traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Based on the promising results of preclinical studies, various mAb are currently being evaluated in patients with ovarian cancer. Some of them have already demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes in phase I/II studies. However, in contrast to its use for hematological malignancies and certain solid malignancies such as breast and colorectal cancer, mAb-based therapy has not been convincingly proven to be clinically effective in patients with ovarian cancer. As the preclinical results of mAb's therapeutic effects on ovarian cancer have been encouraging, further investigations are needed to establish a more effective, specific, and less toxic treatment strategy for this malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. smabumabu@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mabuchi
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000276:immunology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D018396:Mucin-1; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D066246:ErbB Receptors