[Monoclonal antibodies. General approach and radioimmunotherapy]

Two major obstacles to systemic cancer therapy are the lack of specificity of therapeutic modalities and the intrapatient and interpatient heterogeneity of cancer cells. Because of their natural specificity, antibodies directed against tumor specific or tumor associated antigens have been raising interest in oncology. This article makes an overview of the basic principles of monoclonal antibodies, their limitations and perspectives, with particular attention to Immunoradioconjugates. The most important Immunoradiotherapy clinical studies are also reviewed.