Prospects for tumour imaging with radiolabelled antibodies

An ideal diagnostic imaging method in cancer management should be one which surveys the entire body for occult or small tumour foci in a single procedure. Imaging with radiolabelled antibodies appears to have such potential if the limiting factors which we have encountered in the last 40 years can be completely eliminated. These factors include antibody-dependent factors, radionuclide-dependent factors, host-dependent factors and imaging modality-dependent factors. Advances in immunology and bio-genetic engineering have enabled production of various antibody fragments and genetically engineered antibody molecules (i.e. chimeric/humanized antibodies and the single-chain antigen binding protein), giving a promise of overcoming the problem of cross-reactivity and host immuno-response. The rapid development in radiopharmacy and labelling chemistry has led to the establishment of various pre-targetted methods which are aimed to improve the tumour to non-tumour ratio. The recent success of producing Tc99m labelled monoclonal antibodies preparation in a kit form has certainly encouraged its clinical applications and made antibody imaging a less tedious task. The progression in computer technology has made "image fusion" possible and hence improve the accuracy of anatomical localization of tumour foci in antibody imaging. It would appear possible to overcome most, if not all, of the limiting factors mentioned above in the near future. The prospect of radiolabelled antibodies in tumour imaging is promising and the dream of a "magic bullet" will soon be fulfilled.