Application of monoclonal antibodies to tumor diagnosis and therapy.

Monoclonal antibodies prepared by somatic cell hybridization techniques are ideal tools for the discrimination of cellular antigens and are beginning to reveal qualitative and quantitative differences in the antigenic composition of normal and malignant cells. Because these reagents are homogeneous in nature, recognize specific antigenic determinants, and can be mass produced, monoclonal antibodies have important clinical applications in the detection and early diagnosis of cancer, in staging procedures, and in therapeutic trials. In addition, many of these reagents have the capacity to distinguish between different types of human tumors and will be useful in the refinement of histopathologic classification schema. Monoclonal antibodies with varying degrees of specificity have already been produced against a variety of human and animal tumors. In this review, the technical aspects of monoclonal antibody production and the clinical and biologic application of these reagents are highlighted in order to demonstrate the potential of monoclonal antibodies as tools for the immunodiagnosis and therapy of malignant disease.