Think of them as molecules on a mission. Monoclonal antibodies, developed in part at UAB, are a new kind of anticancer treatment. They are designed to seek out and attach themselves to tumor cells, where they can block cell growth, deliver powerful anticancer agents, or signal the body¿s immune system to attack.

One such experimental drug, known as AME-133v, could offer new hope for certain patients with lymphoma. In a recent phase 1 clinical trial, AME-133v was found to slow and even stop tumor growth in patients with follicular lymphoma¿a condition in which malignant cells tend to grow slowly in a circular pattern in the lymph nodes. Although follicular lymphoma can be treated with chemotherapy, the disease often returns once therapy is complete. 

¿These first results suggest that AME-133v¿ may be more potent and ultimately more effective than the treatments we have on hand,¿ says Andres Forero, M.D., an associate scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer. Dr. Forero was the lead presenter when these results were reported at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.

In the trial, AME-133v was administered with a standard chemotherapy agent after cancer had re-emerged in patients. This successful combination was well tolerated by the body and caused minimal side effects, Dr. Forero adds. Expanded trials are now under way.