Immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy of childhood malignancies.

Recent advances in immunologic techniques have allowed the generation of monoclonal antibodies against antigens on tumor cells and their normal counterparts. Monoclonal antibodies useful for diagnosing and defining subtypes of acute leukemias and neuroblastoma have been prepared, although the prognostic significance of the subtypes defined by such antibodies remains to be determined. The usefulness of these reagents for therapeutic purposes either ex vivo, in association with autologous bone marrow transplantation, or in vivo, as carriers of cytotoxic agents, is currently under investigation.