[YRS3-5] Targeted antimicrobial therapeutic strategy based on near-infrared photoimmunotherapy for cancer (1)
Mainstays of cancer treatment include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Additionally, many molecular targeted agents, such as monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, lead to improved survival outcomes of patients with cancer. However, newer treatments are required to improve patient outcomes. Molecular imaging is a novel medical imaging technique that provides details of changes occurring at the molecular and cellular levels. Photoimmunotherapy, based on optical molecular imaging is a newly developed cancer theranostic modality (a combinatorial diagnostic and therapeutic approach), which utilizes photosensitizer-mAb conjugates and near-infrared light (Mitsunaga, Kobayashi et al. Nat Med 2011). A first-in-human clinical trial of photoimmunotherapy with the epidermal growth factor receptor-targeting cetuximab-IR700 (RM-1929) began in 2015, and a global Phase 3 clinical trial is underway in patients with recurrent head and neck cancer. We discuss mechanisms and recent updates on photoimmunotherapy for cancer.