Monoclonal antibodies: prospects for specific immunotherapy for gliomas.

Monoclonal antibodies produced by hybrids of lymphoid cells can be raised against cancer cells. These antibodies can be used to detect certain cancers, and some monoclonals bind with relative selectivity to glioma-associated antigens. Various laboratories are studying the radiolocalization of human glioma antigens in tumor cells transplanted into animals, and this imaging technique is also being tested in patients. Methods have been developed to promote passage of these antibodies across the blood-brain barrier, and thereby, to increase their uptake in tumors. Either alone or in conjunction with macrophages, cytotoxins, or radiosensitizers, these antibodies may offer a high degree of selective tumor destruction with relative sparing of normal brain.