The Evolving Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Cancer Therapy

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 15410

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. London Regional Cancer Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6A 5A5, Canada
2. Department of Oncology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5W9, Canada
Interests: breast cancer; lung cancer; biomarkers; health services research; immunotherapy; real-world evidence; meta-analyses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are novel monoclonal antibodies conjugated to cytotoxic agents that selectively deliver cytotoxic payloads to target cancer cells. They can deliver strong cytotoxicity with high specificity to cancer cells and can overcome traditional challenges seen with conventional chemotherapy by achieving wide therapeutic windows. In the early 2000s, ADCs were first developed for hematologic malignancies, then for solid tumors. They have since shown great potential for achieving a paradigm shift in cancer treatment. Currently, several ADCs are approved for use for the treatment of various cancers, and many others are being investigated in various stages of clinical development. In this Special Issue, we will present an overview of the biology and chemistry of ADCs, and we will review their safety profile and their clinical activity in different settings and tumor types when administered as single agents and when combined with other cancer drugs.

Dr. Jacques Raphael
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

12 pages, 556 KiB  
Review
Antibody–Drug Conjugates in the Treatment of Genitourinary Cancers: An Updated Review of Data
by Prathana Nathan, Adnan Rajeh, Meh Noor, Gabriel Boldt and Ricardo Fernandes
Curr. Oncol. 2024, 31(4), 2316-2327; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol31040172 - 19 Apr 2024
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Abstract
The treatment landscape of genitourinary cancers has significantly evolved over the past few years. Renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer are the most common genitourinary malignancies. Recent advancements have produced new targeted therapies, particularly antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), due to a better [...] Read more.
The treatment landscape of genitourinary cancers has significantly evolved over the past few years. Renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer are the most common genitourinary malignancies. Recent advancements have produced new targeted therapies, particularly antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), due to a better understanding of the underlying oncogenic factors and molecular mechanisms involved. ADCs function as a ‘drug delivery into the tumor’ system. They are composed of an antigen-directed antibody linked to a cytotoxic drug that releases cytotoxic components after binding to the tumor cell’s surface antigen. ADCs have been proven to be extremely promising in the treatment of several cancer types. For GU cancers, this novel treatment has only benefited patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). The rest of the GU cancer paradigm does not have any FDA-approved ADC treatment options available yet. In this study, we have thoroughly completed a narrative review of the current literature and summarized preclinical studies and clinical trials that evaluated the utility, activity, and toxicity of ADCs in GU cancers, the prospects of ADC development, and the ongoing clinical trials. Prospective clinical trials, retrospective studies, case reports, and scoping reviews were included. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolving Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Cancer Therapy)
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15 pages, 486 KiB  
Review
Antibody–Drug Conjugates in Breast Cancer: Ascent to Destiny and Beyond—A 2023 Review
by Tian Xiao, Sanji Ali, Danilo Giffoni M. M. Mata, Ana Elisa Lohmann and Phillip S. Blanchette
Curr. Oncol. 2023, 30(7), 6447-6461; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30070474 - 06 Jul 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4715
Abstract
Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are revolutionizing cancer treatment, adding another important new class of systemic therapy. ADCs are a specially designed class of therapeutics that target cells expressing specific cancer antigens using directed antibody–drug delivery and release a cytotoxic chemotherapeutic payload. Over the past [...] Read more.
Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are revolutionizing cancer treatment, adding another important new class of systemic therapy. ADCs are a specially designed class of therapeutics that target cells expressing specific cancer antigens using directed antibody–drug delivery and release a cytotoxic chemotherapeutic payload. Over the past two decades, improvements in ADC design, development, and research, particularly in breast cancer, have led to several recent landmark publications. These advances have significantly changed various treatment paradigms and revamped traditional classifications of breast cancer with the introduction of a potential new subtype: “HER2-low”. This review will focus on several ADCs developed for breast cancer treatment, including trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), sacituzumab govitecan (SG) and other newer emerging agents. It will provide an overview of the role of ADCs in breast cancer and discuss the opportunities and challenges they present. Additionally, our review will discuss future research directions to improve the selection of targets, combination therapies, and aim to improve drug safety. Important first-line metastatic and adjuvant clinical trials are underway, which may expand the role of ADC therapy in breast cancer. We foresee ADCs driving a new era of breast cancer treatment, adding to the steady incremental survival advantage observed in recent years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolving Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Cancer Therapy)
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22 pages, 982 KiB  
Review
‘Targeting’ Improved Outcomes with Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer—An Updated Review
by Saurav Verma, Daniel Breadner and Jacques Raphael
Curr. Oncol. 2023, 30(4), 4329-4350; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30040330 - 20 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 9756
Abstract
Antibody-Drug conjugates (ADCs) are a relatively new class of drugs with a promise to improve the outcomes in specific cancers. By delivering the cytotoxic agent to tumor cells expressing specific antigens, ADCs achieve a better therapeutic index and more potency. ADCs have been [...] Read more.
Antibody-Drug conjugates (ADCs) are a relatively new class of drugs with a promise to improve the outcomes in specific cancers. By delivering the cytotoxic agent to tumor cells expressing specific antigens, ADCs achieve a better therapeutic index and more potency. ADCs have been approved for several hematological and solid malignancies, including breast, urothelial and gastric carcinoma. Recently, trastuzumab deruxtecan (TDXd) was the first ADC approved for previously treated metastatic HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many promising ADCs are in the pipeline for clinical development in non-small cell lung cancer, including sacituzumab govitecan, patritumab deruxtecan, datopotamab deruxtecan and tusamitamab ravtansine. There is a hope that these drugs would cater to the unmet need of specific patient populations, including patients with currently untargetable mutations. We hope these drugs, e.g., TROP2 targeted ADCs, will also give more options for therapy in NSCLC to improve outcomes for patients. In this comprehensive review, we will be discussing the recent evidence including targets, efficacy and the safety of newer ADC candidates in NSCLC. We will also briefly discuss the specific toxicities, novel biomarkers, overcoming resistance mechanisms, challenges and the way forward, as these new ADCs and combinations find a way into the clinical practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolving Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Cancer Therapy)
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