Volume 11,Issue 4
Research Status and Progress of Light-Activated Antibody-Drug Conjugates
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine the specific recognition capability of antibodies with the potent cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents to achieve precise tumor cell killing. This cancer therapy holds great promise and has garnered widespread attention, having achieved breakthrough progress in the treatment of various malignancies, including breast cancer and gastric cancer. The therapeutic efficacy of ADCs depends on their ability to localize toxic molecules within the tumor microenvironment while maintaining stability in the circulatory system or other normal tissues. Photoactivated ADCs represent a targeted cancer therapy strategy characterized by light-triggered activation, which transfers the cleavage of ADCs to the extracellular environment rather than relying on traditional lysosomal processing. This approach reduces dependence on intracellular endocytosis efficiency and tumor-specific processing variations, offering novel options for targeted cancer therapy. This article primarily reviews the technical pathways and current development status of photoactivated ADCs, discusses challenges encountered during clinical translation and potential breakthrough directions, aiming to provide theoretical references and practical guidance for future research.
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