The Synergistic Effect of Humanized Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF-1R) and Chemotherapy

IGF-1R, an important member of the IGF signaling system, is a plasma-membrane-bound receptor composed of two α-subunits and two β-subunits. IGF-1R has been revealed to play a pivotal role in cancer cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and phenotype transformation, resulting uncontrolled tumor-cell growth. During the last decades, IGF-1R monoclonal antibody combined with chemotherapeutic agents as a novel cancer treatment approach has shown synergistic effect in cancer treatment in some preclinical and clinical trials. Prolonged progression-free survival rate, objective response rate and stable disease were shown in some sorts of cancer patients compared to those implemented traditional standard chemotherapy. However, not all related clinical trials demonstrated expected promising outcomes. Most treatment-related adverse events in those studies are mild and manageable. The most frequently happened side effect is hyperglycemia in majorities of combined cancer therapy studies. Herein, we summarized the recent online and published literatures concerning the safety, tolerability, anti-tumor activity and adverse events of this novel strategy. Besides, this work attempts to provide convincible evidence to warrant further investigation to identify prognostic biomarkers on neoplasm.