RESUMO
With the elucidation of structures and functions, antibodies are widely applied in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Today, therapeutic antibodies have played ever increasing roles in the treatment of cancers. In fact, there are over 20 monoclonal antibodies which have been approved by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the therapeutic use in cancers. For the gastric and colorectal cancers, there are at least 9 antibodies have been approved for cancer therapy or for clinical trials. These antibody drugs target to tumor associate antigens and can destroy the cancer cells through several mechanisms such as antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, complement-dependent cytotoxicity, blockage of blood nutrition and crucial signaling pathways. With the progress in gene engineering technology, the diverse structures of antibodies can be created. In addition, the antibody-conjugates with radioisotopes, toxins and cytotoxins, are also designed for targeted therapy of gastric and colorectal cancers. In this article, we review the trends in the clinical development and application of antibody drugs for future research and development of the rapidly expanding therapeutic modality in gastric and colorectal cancers.