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Updated: Oct 25, 2025
Colorectal Cancer Cell Surface Protein Profiling Using an Antibody Microarray and Fluorescence Multiplexing
Published on: September 25, 2011
Antibody Fragment and Targeted Colorectal Cancer Therapy: A Global Systematic Review
Sepideh Ghani1, Niloofar Deravi2, Marzieh Pirzadeh3
1Student Research Committee, Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Background And Aims:
Antibody-based therapeutics have been shown to be promising for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients. However, the size and long-circulating half-lives of antibodies can limit their reproducible manufacture in clinical studies. Consequently, in novel therapeutic approaches, conventional antibodies are minimized and engineered to produce fragments like Fab, scFv, nanobody, bifunctional antibody, bispecific antibody, minibody, and diabody to preserve their high affinity and specificity to target pharmaceutical nanoparticle conjugates. This systematic review for the first time aimed to elucidate the role of various antibody fragments in colorectal cancer treatment.
Methods:
A systematic literature search in the web of sciences, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ProQuest was conducted. Reference lists of the articles were reviewed to identify the relevant papers. The full-text search included articles published in English during 19902021.
Results:
Most of the 53 included studies were conducted in vitro and in most conducted studies singlechain antibodies were among the most used antibody fragments. Most antibodies targeted CEA in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Moreover, a large number of studies observed apoptosis induction and tumor growth inhibition. In addition, few studies implicated the role of the innate immune system as an indirect mechanism of tumor growth by enhancing NK-cell killing.
Conclusion:
Antibody-based therapy was demonstrated to be of great promise in the treatment of colorectal cancer rather than common treatments such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgical operations. This type of specified cancer treatment can also induce the activation of the innate and specific immune systems to eradicate tumor cells.
Insights
Antibody fragments show promise for colorectal cancer treatment, offering advantages over traditional therapies. These engineered fragments target cancer cells, inhibit tumor growth, and activate immune responses for improved outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunotherapy
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Antibody-based therapeutics are promising for colorectal cancer (CRC) but face manufacturing challenges due to antibody size and half-life.
- Engineered antibody fragments (e.g., Fab, scFv, nanobodies) offer high affinity and specificity for targeted therapies.
- These fragments are crucial in novel approaches like pharmaceutical nanoparticle conjugates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the role of various antibody fragments in colorectal cancer treatment.
- To elucidate the potential of engineered antibody fragments as therapeutic agents for CRC.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was performed across major scientific databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest).
- Relevant articles published between 1990 and 2021 were identified through full-text searches and reference list reviews.
Main Results:
- Single-chain antibodies were the most frequently used fragments in the 53 included studies, predominantly targeting Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).
- Studies demonstrated significant outcomes including apoptosis induction and tumor growth inhibition in vitro.
- The innate immune system, particularly Natural Killer (NK) cell activity, was implicated as an indirect mechanism for tumor eradication.
Conclusions:
- Antibody fragment-based therapy presents a promising alternative to conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy for colorectal cancer.
- This targeted approach can activate both innate and specific immune systems to eliminate tumor cells effectively.
- Engineered antibody fragments offer a viable strategy for enhancing the efficacy and manufacturability of antibody-based cancer therapies.
