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As researchers have learned more about the mechanisms that initiate cancer and drive its progression, they have pioneered targeted drug and antibody therapies that are capable of disrupting these mechanisms. These therapies have benefited patients with a variety of cancers, but the targeted tumor cells almost invariably develop resistance to the treatments.

Our laboratory focuses on using antibody-engineering techniques to design antibodies for the purpose of diagnosing or treating cancer. We use rational design methods to build antibodies that match the structure of proteins found on the surface of tumor cells. In this way, we increase the antibodies’ efficacy by improving their ability to selectively target tumor cells. We are also working on understanding both how resistance to targeted drugs arises and how the antibodies we are developing can be exploited to overcome drug resistance.

1. Robinson MK, Hodge KM, Horak E, Sundberg AL, Russeva M, Shaller CC, Simmons HH, Von Mehren M, Shchaveleva I, Marks JD, Adams GP. Targeting ErbB2 and ErbB3 with a bispecific-single chain Fv enhances targeting selectivity and induces a therapeutic effect in vitro. Br J Cancer. 2008 Nov 4;99(9):1415-25. Epub 2008 Oct 7. PubMed
2. Robinson MK, Shaller C, Garmestani K, Plascjak PS, Hodge KM, Yuan QA, Marks JD, Waldmann TA, Brechbiel MW, Adams GP. Effective treatment of established human breast tumor xenografts in immunodeficient mice with a single dose of the a-emitting radioisotope astatine-211 conjugated to anti-HER2 /neu diabodies. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Feb 1;14(3):875-82. PubMed
3. Robinson MK, Borghaei H, Adams GP, Weiner LM. Pharmacology of cancer biotherapeutics – monoclonal antibodies. In: DeVita VT, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA, editors. Cancer: principles and practice of oncology, 8th edition. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins;2008. p. 537-47.
4. Tang Y, Lou J, Alpaugh RK, Robinson MK, Marks JD, Weiner LM. Regulation of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity by IgG intrinsic and apparent affinity for target antigen. J Immunol 2007 Sep 1;179(5):2815-23. PubMed
5. Robinson MK, Doss M, Shaller C, Narayanan D, Marks J, Adler LP, Gonzalez Trotter DE, Adams GP. Quantitative immunoPET imaging of HER2-positive tumor xenografts with an iodine-124 labeled anti-HER2 diabody. Cancer Res. 2005 Feb 15;65(4):1471-8. PubMed