Antibody darts on target for acute myelogenous leukemia

In the last few years immunotherapy for malignant disease has moved into the mainstream of therapeutic development. In the field of hematologic malignancies powerful antibody therapies have successfully been used to target B-lymphocyte malignancies. Antibodies have been used alone, but can be engineered linking them to toxins or to T lymphocytes, either joined to the zeta chain of the T cell receptor (chimeric antigen receptors), or through bi-specific antibodies binding T cells by anti CD3 to the lymphoid target through, for example the anti CD19 variable portion [reviewed in (1)]. Clinical trials clearly confirm the power of strategies which bring T cells with their cytotoxic potency into close proximity with surface antigen targets on the malignant cell (2-4).