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Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Melanoma and Other Skin Malignancies

  • Skin Cancer (T Ito, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

While most skin malignancies are successfully treated with surgical excision, advanced and metastatic skin malignancies still often have poor long-term outcomes despite therapeutic advances. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) serve as a potentially promising novel therapeutic approach to treat advanced skin cancers as they combine antibody-associated antigen specificity with cytotoxic anti-tumor effects, thereby maximizing efficacy and minimizing systemic toxicity. While no ADCs have gained regulatory approval for advanced skin cancers, several promising agents are undergoing preclinical and clinical investigation. In addition to identifying and validating skin cancer antigen targets, the key to maximizing therapeutic success is the careful development of each component of the ADC complex: antibodies, cytotoxic drugs, and linkers. It is the optimization of each of these components that will be integral in overcoming resistance, maximizing safety, and improving long-term clinical outcomes.

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Funding

RG receives funding from the SCRIPS Foundation. DBJ receives funding from the Susan and Luke Simons Directorship for Melanoma, the James C. Bradford Melanoma Fund, the Van Stephenson Melanoma Fund.

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  1. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA

    Rachel Goodman MBA

  2. Department of Hematology/Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, 1161 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Douglas B. Johnson MD, MSCI

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  1. Rachel Goodman MBA
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Correspondence to Douglas B. Johnson MD, MSCI.

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Conflict of Interest

DBJ has served on advisory boards or as a consultant for the BMS, Catalyst Biopharma, Iovance, Jansen, Mallinckrodt, Merck, Mosaic ImmunoEngineering, Novartis, Oncosec, Pfizer, Targovax, and Teiko, has received research funding from the BMS and Incyte, and has patents pending for use of MHC-II as a biomarker for immune checkpoint inhibitor response, and abatacept as treatment for immune-related adverse events.

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Goodman, R., Johnson, D.B. Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Melanoma and Other Skin Malignancies. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 23, 1428–1442 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-022-01018-3

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