Novel treatment strategies for cancer and their tumor-targeting approaches using antibodies against tumor-associated antigens.

Novel treatment strategies for cancer that are based on a more detailed understanding over the tumor biology are based on the latest new technology and are expected to improve the current treatment outcome for patients with cancer. However, many of these strategies still have one common and critical problem, being their limited specificity for tumor cells. In this context, antibodies against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are used in several ways to increase the tumor specificity of these novel strategies. Firstly, photodynamic or sonodynamic therapy using anti-TAA antibodies conjugated with new sensitizers offers additional therapeutic approaches. Secondly, re-targeting of T-cell immunotherapy using an anti-TAA antibody fusion protein was shown to be useful for the success of cancer immunotherapy, because the down-regulation of HLA class I molecules in tumor tissues constitutes a major tumor escape mechanism associated with tumor-specific cellular immunity. Thirdly, in oncolytic virotherapy, targeting viral vectors carrying cytolytic activity against tumor tissues by modifying the tropisms with anti-TAA antibodies is also very promising from a practical point of view.