Antibody-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy: Mechanisms, challenges, and prospects

Theranostics. 2022 May 1;12(8):3719-3746. doi: 10.7150/thno.72594. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

In recent years, antibody-based cancer therapy has emerged as one of the efficient therapeutic strategies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), angiogenesis inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), multi-specific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells, among others. To date, various drug delivery platforms have been developed to improve the bioavailability, delivery convenience, and reduced toxicity towards increased therapeutic efficacy of antibodies. Herein, we emphasize the clinical manifestations of various antibody-based tumor therapies, highlighting their mechanisms and applications for cancer therapy. Further, based on the problems to be solved in the current clinical application of antibodies, and combined with the advanced drug delivery technologies, we discuss the roles of antibody-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) in cancer therapy, such as enhanced patient compliance and regulating the tumor microenvironment for combined therapy. By expounding the importance of DDSs and discussing the challenges and prospects of their implementation, we suggest that pharmaceutical enterprises and scientists develop appropriate antibody-based delivery platforms.

Keywords: Antibody-based therapy; Controlled release; Drug delivery system; Immunotherapy.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies / therapeutic use
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Immunotherapy
  • Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Tumor Microenvironment

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors