Labelled monoclonal antibody scanning gives the clinician a powerful tool for the recognition and localization of malignant cells within a patient's body. Although certain technical problems still exist, the next few years should see a rapid expansion of experimental work in this area. This technique could become a routine investigation in the management of patients with malignant disease. The use of labelled antibodies to study the distribution and activity of antigens under different physiological conditions in patients could provide interesting results in areas other than cancer. Furthermore the same monoclonal antibodies can carry not only diagnostic isotopes but therapeutic agents such as drugs, toxins or high activity radioisotopes. In this way monoclonal antibodies could be used to target therapy specifically onto tumour cells, thus providing the clinician with a therapeutic weapon more specific than anything available today.
