Trastuzumab (Herceptin) this mAb is specific to HER2, a protein found on some cancer cells and promotes their growth. Trastuzumab binds to HER2, thereby blocking its activity. This stops or slows the growth of cancer cells.

Blinatumomab (Blincyto) this therapy is considered T cell therapy and monoclonal antibodies because it contains two different monoclonal antibodies. One attaches to cancer cells, while the other attaches to immune cells. This binds the two cell types together, allowing the immune system to attack cancer cells. It is currently used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and similar drugs are being developed to treat conditions such as myeloma.

Monoclonal antibodies can also attach to radioactive particles or chemotherapy drugs. These are called conjugated Mabs. Because antibodies are specific to antigens on cancer cells, they can deliver these anticancer substances directly to cancer cells.

A few examples of conjugated Mabs include:

Ibutuomab (Zevalin). This mAb is attached to radioactive particles, and when the antibody binds, the radioactivity can be delivered directly to the cancer cells. It is used to treat certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Adtrastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla). These antibodies have chemotherapy drugs attached to them. Once the antibody attaches, it releases the drug into the cancer cells. It is used to treat certain types of cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors

Immune checkpoint inhibitors boost the immune system's response to cancer. The immune system is designed to attach to external invaders without destroying other cells, but it does not recognize cancer cells as invaders.

Normally, checkpoint molecules on the cell's surface prevent T cells from attacking them. Checkpoint inhibitors help T cells avoid these checkpoints, allowing them to better attack cancer cells.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used to treat a variety of cancers (why cancer is hard to cure), including lung cancer and cancer. A few examples of immune checkpoint inhibitors include:

atezolizumab (Tencentiq)

nivolumab (Opdivo)

pembrolizumab (Keytruda)