Targeted therapy with monoclonal antibodies: Do we observe progress in the management of female genital tract cancers?

Abstract

Targeted therapy with monoclonal antibodies (moAbs) has become a valuable supplementation for classic chemo- and radiotherapy. The first part of this review presents in a condensed way the characteristics and mechanism of action of moAbs most commonly used and/or tested for therapy of female genital tract malignancies, including: bevacizumab (anti-VEGF-A moAb), cetuximab (anti-EGFR moAb), trastuzumab (anti-ErbB2/HER2 moAb), catumaxomab (anti-EpCAM/anti-CD3 moAb), oregovomab (anti-MUC16 moAb) and farletuzumab (anti-FR-α moAb). The second part of the review discusses the results of the recent clinical trials devoted to the usefulness of moAbs in the management of cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancers. The unquestionable progress in this field has made possible the introduction of bevacizumab for the treatment of advanced ovarian, Fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer, as well as advanced, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Similarly, catumaxomab has been registered for the intraperitoneal treatment of malignant ascites in EpCAM positive ovarian cancer when standard therapy is no longer available.