Posted by 
Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are relatively new anti-cancer drugs, they consist of an antibody to which a cell-killing molecule (chemotherapy) is attached. Antibodies can recognize and bind to the ‘hands’ on the outside of a cell in a targeted way, the antibody in an ADC is designed to adhere exclusively to receptors that are characteristic of a tumor cell.
The chemotherapy drug is not released until the receptor has brought the entire structure into the cell, and then the chemotherapy drug can do its job. ADCs are currently in used for the treatment of lymphoma and metastatic breast cancer. “These ADCs work very well,” says Marc Robillard of Tagworks Pharmaceuticals, a company based at Radboud university medical center but not applicable for colon and ovarian cancer.
There are not many suitable cancer-specific receptors that automatically drag such an ADC into the cell, and if the ADC gets stuck on the outside, the chemotherapy drug will not be released and therefore can’t do its job. To ensure that the chemotherapy drug is released if the ADC remains on the outside of the tumor cells. To achieve this objective, the ADC is injected and then binds to the receptors on the tumor cells. After a day or two, the tumor is filled with these ADCs.
Injecting a second component that ‘click-releases’ the chemotherapy drug from the ADC released a large quantity of chemotherapy is released to attack the tumor. It shows anticancer effects on ovarian cancer and an aggressive form of colon cancer. In both cases a pronounced anticancer effect is displayed, this approach had no therapeutic effect in these forms of cancer.
haleplushearty.org