Drugmaker AbbVie says these patients often undergo surgery and then are treated with chemotherapy.
But they can become resistant to that chemotherapy and require another treatment option.
In clinical trials, patients who received the antibody-drug conjugate had increased overall survival rates.
Illustration by Julie Bang for Verywell Health
Elahere reduced the risk of cancer progression by 35% compared to conventional chemotherapy.
What Are Antibody-Drug Conjugates?
Mostchemotherapy treatmentsare given systemically, meaning they impact the entire body.
This creates a bystander effect that can make the drugs more impactful.
Who Are Antibody-Drug Conjugates For?
So far, clinical trials of antibody-drug conjugates have been focused on advanced-stage disease, Meric-Bernstam said.
This means theyre for patients who havemetastatic cancer, or cancer that cannot be removed with surgery.
But as more research is conducted, antibody-drug conjugates might be useful for earlier stages of cancer, too.
Thats sort of the evolution for each antibody-drug conjugate that comes into development.
Now the thought is, maybe we can be doing that with other cancers, too, he said.
What Are the Side Effects and Risks of Antibody-Drug Conjugates?
Like with conventional chemotherapy treatment, antibody-drug conjugates have side effects.
And even though antibody-drug conjugates intend to limit the harm to healthy cells, they are not perfect.
That is where that linkerhow those antibodies are attached to the chemotherapyis really, really critical.
What Antibody-Drug Conjugates Are Already In Use?
In some cancers, theyre ready and theyre the new standard of care before chemotherapy.
But in some situations, systemic chemotherapy is still the standard.
Antibody-drug conjugates are a novel way to improve chemotherapy delivery, but their role is still evolving.
Experts say antibody-drug conjugates are a promising area of cancer treatment, especially in late-stage disease.
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National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms.Antibody-drug conjugate.
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Astellas Pharma US and Seagen.Results from Padcev clinical studies.
Genentech USA.The Polivy study.
