Antibody-Drug Conjugates

Antibody-drug conjugates are targeted cancer medicines that use an antibody to carry a treatment payload toward cells with a chosen marker.

The antibody is designed to recognise a protein on certain cells. It is connected to an anti-cancer drug by a linker. After the medicine attaches to a cell carrying the target, the payload may enter the cell and interfere with processes the cell needs to grow or divide.

An antibody-drug conjugate combines targeting with drug delivery. The target needs to be present on the cancer being considered, which is why laboratory testing of tumour tissue or other clinical information may guide whether a particular medicine fits your care plan.

A care team may consider an antibody-drug conjugate when a cancer has the relevant marker and the medicine is suitable for the cancer type and treatment setting. Some are part of HER2-targeted therapy, where testing helps identify whether HER2 is a useful treatment target. They are usually given through a vein in a treatment unit, with timing and monitoring tailored to the medicine.

Treatment choices can also include surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or another targeted medicine. The choice depends on the cancer type, its features, treatments already received, your general health, and what matters to you. A different option is not necessarily less active; it may be selected because it suits a particular situation better.

Before treatment, ask which marker the medicine targets, how it will be given, and how your team will check its effect. Tell the team about new symptoms between visits, including breathlessness, fever, unusual tiredness, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin changes, eye symptoms, or numbness and tingling. The relevant symptoms vary by medicine, so your team can explain which changes need a same-day call.

Side effects can come from the payload, the targeted effect, or the way the medicine is processed by the body. Monitoring may include conversations about symptoms, blood tests, examinations, or scans. Keep an up-to-date list of medicines, supplements, and allergies, and do not start a new product without checking with the oncology team.