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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1556245
This article is part of the Research Topic Combination Therapies in Cancer Treatment: Enhancing Efficacy and Reducing Resistance View all 4 articles

Antibody-Drug Conjugate Combinations in Cancer Treatment: Clinical Efficacy and Clinical Study Perspectives

Provisionally accepted
Xuwen Li Xuwen Li 1*Xianglong Shi Xianglong Shi 1Kai Tang Kai Tang 2Qingkun Han Qingkun Han 2Lin Quan Lin Quan 1Yijing Li Yijing Li 1Jianqiao Cui Jianqiao Cui 1Nuan Feng Nuan Feng 3Baoxin Shang Baoxin Shang 1
  • 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
  • 2 Zibo Central Hospital, Shandong, China
  • 3 Qingdao Women and Children's Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a promising cancer treatment, combining targeted delivery of cytotoxic agents with the specificity of monoclonal antibodies.Despite their potential, ADCs face limitations such as resistance and off-target effects. To enhance their efficacy, ADCs are increasingly being combined with other therapeutic strategies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, small-molecule inhibitors, anti-angiogenic agents, and CAR-T cell therapies. These combination therapies aim to overcome resistance mechanisms, improve tumor targeting, and boost immune responses. Clinical studies have shown that such combinations can significantly improve response rates and progression-free survival across various cancers. This review explores the mechanisms, clinical efficacy, key studies, challenges, and future perspectives of ADC combinations in cancer therapy.

    Keywords: Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), cancer therapy, Combination strategies, clinical studies, Tumor Microenvironment

    Received: 06 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Shi, Tang, Han, Quan, Li, Cui, Feng and Shang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xuwen Li, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.