About this Research Topic
In this Research Topic, we would like to discuss the burst on basic research, preclinical studies and new clinical applications as a consequence of the high discovery rate of additional/new molecules involved in tumor progression and the high effectiveness of Abs as therapeutic agents. In particular, we would like to discuss i) the different mechanisms used by these antibodies to modulate the anti-tumor immune response; ii) the generation of new antibodies identifying intracellular antigens (i.e. peptides loaded onto HLA class I molecules); and iii) the use of antibody cocktails, either recognizing different epitopes of a given antigen, or identifying different molecules over-expressed in particular tumors. This approach is especially relevant when the aim is to target cancer stem cells (CSC), for the lack of CSC-specific cell surface markers, making it difficult the use of antibodies to kill them.
Taken together, these issues lead to a nearly unimaginable expansion of the field of antibody-based therapies, allowing to envisage durable remissions after acute treatments, avoiding chronic treatments.
Keywords: therapeutic antibodies, tumor progression antigens, tailor-made antibody formats, antibody cocktails
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