Therapeutic Application of Monoclonal Antibodies in Pancreatic Cancer: Advances, Challenges and Future Opportunities

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In the majority of patients, cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages of disease and are resistant to current treatments. Therefore, more effective and less toxic therapeutic agents are urgently needed. Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based technology is an important tool in the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and development of novel therapeutic agents including antibody-based drugs. In this article, we review the therapeutic potential of monoclonal antibody-based agents when used as single agents or in combination with other treatments in pancreatic cancer, factors contributing to the poor response to therapy and emerging opportunities for more effective treatment with antibody-based agents. ABSTRACT: Pancreatic cancer remains as one of the most aggressive cancer types. In the absence of reliable biomarkers for its early detection and more effective therapeutic interventions, pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer death in the Western world in the next decade. Therefore, it is essential to discover novel therapeutic targets and to develop more effective and pancreatic cancer-specific therapeutic agents. To date, 45 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been approved for the treatment of patients with a wide range of cancers; however, none has yet been approved for pancreatic cancer. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the FDA approved anticancer mAb-based drugs, the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials with mAbs in pancreatic cancer and the factors contributing to the poor response to antibody therapy (e.g. tumour heterogeneity, desmoplastic stroma). MAb technology is an excellent tool for studying the complex biology of pancreatic cancer, to discover novel therapeutic targets and to develop various forms of antibody-based therapeutic agents and companion diagnostic tests for the selection of patients who are more likely to benefit from such therapy. These should result in the approval and routine use of antibody-based agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients in the future.