Natural killer (NK) cell function is a strong prognostic factor in colorectal carcinoma patients treated with the monoclonal antibody 17-1A.

Tumor cells might be susceptible to different effector functions of the immune system. This cytotoxic capacity has been utilized to analyze the prognostic significance of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma (CRC) treated with the monoclonal antibody (MAb)17-1A. Such analysis might form the basis for future patient selection and may lead to improvements in therapeutic strategies.

MAb17-1A and cytokines for the treatment of patients with colorectal carcinoma.

CO17-1A/GA73-3/EpCam/KSA is a cellular adhesion molecule expressed on the majority of tumor cells in most patients with colorectal carcinoma. One of the first mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for therapeutic use was produced against this particular tumor associated antigen (MAb17-1A). MAb17-1A has served as a model for the development of antibody therapy.