Monoclonal antibodies for cancer immunotherapy

In recent years, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), as potent antitumor tools, have gained increasing importance in the clinic. The use of antibody engineering methods has made it possible for investigators to develop antibody structures with improved antitumor effects. The development of efficacious therapeutic mAbs entails gaining in-depth knowledge about factors including antibody structure and function, the properties of an ideal tumor antigen, the advantages of employing combinational therapies, and the limitations of antibody-based modalities. This chapter concentrates on mAbs as versatile platforms for cancer immunotherapy. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015