Hybridomas are like factories that can indefinitely produce large quantities of these pure monoclonal antibodies. MABs by themselves may enhance a patient's immune response to the cancer. Some antitumor effects have been seen in the antibody treatment of lymphoma and some other cancers. But this treatment is not perfect. Sometimes the injected antibodies produce no response or block a normal response.
Cancer cells can also hide their antigens, making themselves less likely to be destroyed.
A way to increase the effectiveness of MABs is to combine them with another form of therapy. For example, MABs can be bound to a chemotherapy agent. In this case, the monoclonal antibodies contain a radioactive substance such as radioactive iodine that targets and destroys the cancer cells. With this form of therapy, the tumor cells receive a large amount of radiation and normal tissue is spared. Radioisotope-labeled MABs may also prove useful in diagnosing certain cancers.