Monoclonal antibody-based therapy of lymphoid neoplasms: what's on the horizon?

Although exciting advances in monoclonal antibody therapy have already occurred, a review of agents in earlier stages of development reveals that many new agents may be approaching the clinic in the years to come. A look at the horizon of monoclonal antibody therapy reveals the following: novel strategies for augmenting the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies with which many clinicians are already familiar; novel antibodies with activity against lymphoma cells; novel technologies for generating and humanizing monoclonal antibodies; novel types of antibody-based therapeutics; and novel uses for these agents as modulators of the host immune system or other aspects of host-tumor interaction. Research in each of these areas will be reviewed.