Monoclonal antibodies in non-small-cell lung cancer: Light at the end of the tunnel

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is considered as the most common type of lung cancer. Several conventional therapies, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are used for the treatment of lung cancer. But, these therapies could have multiple undesirable side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for therapeutic agents to improve the clinical outcomes for cases with NSCLC. Recently, therapeutic antibodies have shown promise for NSCLC treatment. The aim of this review is to discuss FDA-approved antibodies such as durvalumab, pembrolizumab, necitumumab and nivolumab in the treatment of NSCLC as well as Onartuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against c-MET, that was discontinued due to its lack of clinical activity. Furthermore, the aim of this manuscript is to give a brief overview about NSCLC therapeutic mAbs. *Correspondence to: Fatemeh Naddafi, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Tel: 982188209627; Fax: 982188209627; E-mail: fatemeh.naddafi@yahoo.com, fatemeh.naddafi@sbmu.ac.ir