Understanding the promising role of antibody drug conjugates in breast and ovarian cancer - Review of preclinical findings and early clinical strategies

Sep 24, 2026

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A review addresses antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) as an emerging anticancer therapy class, emphasizing how linker technology and antigen targeting improve selectivity. ADCs deliver cytotoxic payloads to breast and ovarian tumor cells expressing specific antigens, reducing systemic damage compared with conventional chemotherapy. Cleavable linkers may enable payload distribution to nearby cells. Fifteen ADCs are described in preclinical breast/ovarian studies, with some showing promising early-phase clinical results and ongoing Phase I–II investigations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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Introduction

Heliyon 9 (2023) e21425 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Heliyon journal [homepage:](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon)[ www.cell.com/heliyon](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon) | Understanding the promising role of antibody drug conjugates in breast and ovarian cancer
Ritchu Babbara, Vanya a, Aarti Bassia, Rashmi Aroraa, Ankur Aggarwal b, Pranay Wal c, Sunil Kumar Dwivedid, Salma Alolayane, Monica Gulatif, g, Celia Vargas-De-La-Cruz h, i, Tapan Behlj, *, Shreesh Ojhak, **
a Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, 140401, India b Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India c Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology, Pharmacy, NH-19 Bhauti, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India d Sri Aurobindo Institute of Pharmacy, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
e Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraidah, 51452, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia f School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 1444411, India
g ARCCIM, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 20227, Australia
h Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Bromatology and Toxicology, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, 150001, Peru
i E-Health Research Center, Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades, Lima, 15001, Peru j Amity School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Amity University, Punjab, 140306, India
k Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, AlAin, P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates | | | | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | Keywords:
Antibody-drug conjugate Breast cancer
Ovarian cancer Payload
Cleavable linker Therapy | | A nascent category of anticancer therapeutic drugs called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) relate selectivity of aimed therapy using chemotherapeutic medicines with high cytotoxic power. Progressive linker technology led to the advancement of more efficacious and safer treatments. It offers neoteric as well as encouraging therapeutic strategies for treating cancer. ADCs selectively administer a medication by targeting antigens which are abundantly articulated on the membrane surface of tumor cells. Tumor-specific antigens are differently expressed in breast and ovarian cancers and can be utilized to direct ADCs. Compared to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, this approach enables optimal tumor targeting while minimizing systemic damage. A cleavable linker improves the ADCs because it allows the toxic payload to be distributed to nearby cells that do not express the target protein, operating on assorted tumors with dissimilar cell aggregation. Presently fifteen ADCs are being studied in breast and ovarian carcinoma preclinically, and assortment of few have already undergone promising early-phase clinical trial testing. Furthermore, Phase I and II studies are investigating a wide variety of ADCs, and preliminary findings are encouraging. An expanding sum of ADCs will probably become feasible therapeutic choices as solo agents or in conjunction with chemotherapeutic agents. This review accentuates the mostrecent preclinical findings, pharmacodynamics, and upcoming applications of ADCs in breast and ovarian carcinoma. | * Corresponding author. ** Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [tapanbehl31@gmail.com](tapanbehl31@gmail.com) (T. Behl), [shreeshohja@uaeu.ac.ae](shreeshohja@uaeu.ac.ae) (S. Ojha). [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21425](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21425) Received 25 July 2023; Received in revised form 19 October 2023; Accepted 20 October 2023 Available online 30 October 2023 2405-8440/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-n

FAQs

What are antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and how do they work in breast and ovarian cancer?

ADCs are targeted anticancer therapies that connect an antibody to a cytotoxic payload using a linker. They preferentially bind tumor antigens on breast and ovarian cancer cells, enabling more selective delivery of the toxic drug.

Why is linker technology important for ADC effectiveness and safety?

Linker design influences how the payload is released. Cleavable linkers can distribute the payload to nearby cells, potentially improving activity while helping reduce damage to healthy tissues.

What stage of development are ADCs for breast and ovarian cancer in?

The review summarizes preclinical work on fifteen ADCs and notes that some have progressed to promising early-phase clinical trials. Phase I and II studies are also evaluating a range of ADCs, with encouraging preliminary findings.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy