Small Antibodies with Big Applications: Nanobody-Based Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics
1
Department of Pharmacology, Joint Laboratory of Guangdong-Hong Kong Universities for Vascular Homeostasis and Diseases, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
2
School of Biomedical Engineering, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China
3
Cuiying Biomedical Research Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou 730030, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Cancers 2023, 15(23), 5639; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15235639
Submission received: 27 September 2023
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Revised: 16 November 2023
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Accepted: 27 November 2023
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Published: 29 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Cancer Therapeutics)
Simple Summary
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly one in six deaths. The most common cancers are lung, breast, colon, rectum and prostate cancers. In recent years, antibodies against immune checkpoints have been rapidly developed. Compared to monoclonal antibodies, nanobodies have a much smaller size and subsequently have the ability to penetrate deeper into solid tissues, clear faster from the bloodstream and are easier to conjugate with specific carriers. Utilizing these characteristics, nanobodies have been widely used in cancer imaging and treatment. In this review, we focus on the up-to-date studies either in lab research or clinical trials.
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have exhibited substantial potential as targeted therapeutics in cancer treatment due to their precise antigen-binding specificity. Despite their success in tumor-targeted therapies, their effectiveness is hindered by their large size and limited tissue permeability. Camelid-derived single-domain antibodies, also known as nanobodies, represent the smallest naturally occurring antibody fragments. Nanobodies offer distinct advantages over traditional mAbs, including their smaller size, high stability, lower manufacturing costs, and deeper tissue penetration capabilities. They have demonstrated significant roles as both diagnostic and therapeutic tools in cancer research and are also considered as the next generation of antibody drugs. In this review, our objective is to provide readers with insights into the development and various applications of nanobodies in the field of cancer treatment, along with an exploration of the challenges and strategies for their prospective clinical trials.
