Immunology and Biotherapies

Highlights

 

•

Innate immune cells, specifically NK cells and macrophages, play an important role in tumor clearance by antitumor antibodies.

•

Co-stimulatory and checkpoint blockade antibodies can augment the effector functions of innate immune cells.

•

The combination of antibodies targeting innate effectors with tumor-targeted antibodies offers a promising new paradigm for cancer therapy.

 

Cancer immunotherapy is a rapidly evolving field that offers a novel paradigm for cancer treatment: therapies focus on enhancing the immune system's innate and adaptive anti-tumor response. Early immunotherapeutics have achieved impressive clinical outcomes and monoclonal antibodies are now integral to therapeutic strategies in a variety of cancers. However, only recently have antibodies targeting innate immune cells entered clinical development. Innate immune effector cells play important roles in generating and maintaining antitumor immunity. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) are important innate immune mechanisms for tumor eradication. These cytolytic processes are initiated by the detection of a tumor-targeting antibody and can be augmented by activating co-stimulatory pathways or blocking inhibitory signals on innate immune cells. The combination of FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies with innate effector-targeting antibodies has demonstrated potent preclinical therapeutic synergy and early-phase combinatorial clinical trials are ongoing.

Via Krishan Maggon , Gilbert C FAURE