Traditional cancer chemotherapy is often accompanied by systemic toxicity to the patient. Monoclonal antibodies against antigens on cancer cells offer an alternative tumor-selective treatment approach. However, most monoclonal antibodies are not sufficiently potent to be therapeutically active on their own. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) use antibodies to deliver a potent cytotoxic compound selectively to tumor cells, thus improving the therapeutic index of chemotherapeutic agents. The recent approval of two ADCs, brentuximab vedotin and ado-trastuzumab emtansine, for cancer treatment has spurred tremendous research interest in this field. This Review touches upon the early efforts in the field, and describes how the lessons learned from the first-generation ADCs have led to improvements in every aspect of this technology, i.e., the antibody, the cytotoxic compound, and the linker connecting them, leading to the current successes. The design of ADCs currently in clinical development, and results from mechanistic studies and preclinical and clinical evaluation are discussed. Emerging technologies that seek to further advance this exciting area of research are also discussed.

Antibody-drug conjugates: an emerging concept in cancer therapy

DNA Cross-Linking Agents as Antitumor Drugs.

DNA minor-groove recognition by small molecules

Rational approaches, design strategies, structure activity relationship and mechanistic insights for anticancer hybrids

Pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBD) are an important class of sequence-selective DNA-interactive agents that bind covalently to guanine bases within the minor groove of DNA. The PBD monomers are remarkable in possessing a 3-dimensional shape that allows them to fit perfectly within the minor groove of DNA, partly due to the longitudinal twist created by the chiral center at their C11a-position. A PBD produced synthetically, semisynthetically, or isolated from natural sources can exist as a mixture of two or even three forms or can exist predominantly as just one. Various biochemical and structural studies on PBD-DNA adducts have suggested that the molecules locate themselves with their N10-position pointing toward the floor of the minor groove. A further important feature of the PBDs is that they interact selectively with specific DNA sequences. A significant effort has also been made to increase the base-pair span and sequence-selectivity of PBD molecules so that they might be used as gene-targeting agents in biological experiments and possibly as therapeutic agents.

Jingshan Ching

Papers

Rational design of a highly efficient irreversible DNA interstrand cross-linking agent based on the pyrrolobenzodiazepine ring system