[Diagnostic and therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies]

During the last years monoclonal antibodies have become an important constituent of the clinical diagnostic systems for the detection of various humoral and cellular antigens. By means of monoclonal antibodies new knowledge could be observed in the typing of leukaemias and in the functional characterization of immune cells. Furthermore, possibilities of therapeutical use of monoclonal antibodies and present problems concerning this matter are discussed. The development of human monoclonal antibodies will be helpful in the solution of some of these problems.