Few immunotoxins or targeted toxins have become mainline cancer therapies. Still immunotoxins continue to be of major interest and subject of research and development as alternative therapies for drug resistant cancer. A major matter of concern continues to be immunogenicity exemplified by the anti-toxin response of the treated patient. Since some of our most effective toxins are bacterial in nature and bacterial proteins are highly immunogenic, this review describes some efforts to address this pressing issue.
Keywords: B-cell malignancies; CD19; CD22; chemo-immunosuppression; deimmunized; diphtheria toxin; immunogenicity; immunotoxin; pseudomonas exotoxin.