Monoclonal antibody therapies are a type of cancer drug that targets certain proteins in cancer cells. The drug ‘sticks’ to the proteins, which can trigger your body’s immune system to help destroy the cancer cells. The most common monoclonal antibody therapy used in treating people with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia is rituximab, and is used in combination with chemotherapy drugs.
You may hear monoclonal antibodies referred to as ‘immunotherapy’ as they are using your own immune system to kill the cancer cells. When it used alongside chemotherapy, this is often called ‘chemoimmunotherapy’.
See also Rituximab
