Serologic and cellular assays to monitor therapy with murine monoclonal antibodies

Abstract

AbstractThe emergence of new therapeutic modalities frequently requires development of relevant laboratory assays. This is especially true for the clinical uses of newly developed reagents such as murine monoclonal antibodies. We have described immunofluorescence, immunohistochemical, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for monitoring anticancer therapy with monoclonal antibodies. Immunofluorescence assays performed on single cell suspensions and immunohistochemical assays performed on freshly frozen biopsy tissue have confirmed tissue reactivity of the monoclonal antibody prior to infusion and have been used to measure in vivo antibody binding to target cells as well as antigenic modulation during therapy. An ELISA has been used to measure the serum concentrations of monoclonal antibodies; another ELISA has been used to detect the presence of human antibodies reactive with murine monoclonal antibody. These reproducible assays can be performed with commercially available reagents and provide an important data base for making clinical decisions concerning therapy with monoclonal antibodies.