LEO GORDON, MD: Cancer investigators took advantage of that and attempted to make specific antibodies against certain targets on malignant cells. Most of those targets were proteins or antigens on the surface of the those cells. So the concept was if you could take an antibody, target it directly to the protein or antigen on the surface of the cancer cell, you could then cause that cell to stop growing, cause that cell to die and it's led to a host of new treatments for malignancies.
ANNOUNCER: Because they specifically fight one protein on a cancer cell, monoclonal antibodies are called targeted therapies. And the list of those available as treatment options in cancer, is growing.
RUSSEL SCHILDER, MD: The first one was rituximab in the treatment of lymphoma. That was followed quickly by a drug called Herceptin®, which is used in the treatment of breast cancer. Another one that's commonly referred to as Campath® in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
ANNOUNCER: All monoclonal antibodies used in medicine originate from mice. When used in humans, these mouse antibodies cause an immune response known as HAMA, human anti-mouse antibodies. This HAMA response can produce side effects in patients and reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.
LEO GORDON, MD: You're introducing a foreign protein, mostly a mouse protein, into a human system. So patients experience fevers, chills, sometimes a drop in blood pressure, sometimes wheezing, all the kinds of things that you might expect as a reaction to a foreign protein.
