Monoclonal antibody therapy radioimmunotherapy

F. Role in therapy Radioimmunotherapy is a promising new area of cancer treatment that combines the targeting power of monoclonal antibodies with the cell-damaging ability of localized radiation. When infused into a patient, these radiation-carrying antibodies circulate in the body until they locate and bind to the surface of specific cells, and then deliver their cytotoxic radiation directly to malignant cells. Zevalin is the first treatment for cancer that includes a monoclonal antibody that is combined... 

Indolent lymphomas are known to be responsive to radiation therapy (i.e., radiosensitive), and the rationale of radioimmunotherapy is that the antibody will act as a guided missile to deliver its payload (i.e., radiation) to its target (i.e., lymphoma cells that express the CD20 antigen). The specificity of the monoclonal antibody allows delivery of the radiation selectively to the tumor (and adjacent normal tissues). 

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