Protein therapeutics in oncology

Abstract

Protein therapeutics have become an integral component of the battle against cancer. This review seeks to provide a broad overview of the field, highlighting recent advances and describing the direction of ongoing research. The emphasis is on the mechanism-of-action of different classes of protein therapeutics and on the roles that their targets play in various sectors of cancer biology, rather than on specific types of cancer. Clinical-stage examples are provided for each class and novel protein-based therapeutic concepts are noted. A total of 78 specific therapeutics are described. Topics include: antibodies against cell-surface antigens; receptor tyrosine kinases; immunoconjugates; interferons, cytokines, and cancer vaccines; the TNF family; tumor microenvironment and angiogenesis; metastasis; integrins; and cancer stem cells. Recent relevant advances in antibody engineering, including bispecific antibodies, are also covered as separate topics.