Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies: Current Perspectives and Applications for the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, monoclonal antibodies have emerged as a versatile class of therapeutics with unique properties. More than 30 therapeutic antibodies are now approved in the United States and European Union, with numerous candidates filling the preclinical and clinical pipeline of every major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms. Monoclonal antibodies have the advantage over traditional medicines in that they are able to specifically bind to the desired targets with little to no associated toxicity. In the recent years, monoclonal antibodies approved for oncology treatments have gained in notoriety and are now used as adjuvants or neo-adjuvants to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. In the field of head and neck cancer, the anti-EGF receptor antibody Erbitux has paved the way for new targeted treatments to SCCHN. This review introduces some basic concepts and recent perspectives on monoclonal antibodies with a focus on head and neck cancer treatments.