BACKGROUND: Among a variety of cancer therapeutics targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), monoclonal antibodies have shown some therapeutic potential in the treatment of various tumours of different entities. Nevertheless, several high EGF-R-expression carcinomas show no response to this treatment. Tumours of the uterine cervix represent a group, in which the response to anti-EGF-R treatment is hardly predictable, despite a relatively high expression of the receptor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To assess the antitumour activity of anti-EGF-R monoclonal antibody EMD 55,900 in vivo, a series of experiments were performed in the nude mouse model using xenotransplanted primary carcinomas of the uterine cervix. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: EMD 55,900 was found to be capable of inhibiting the growth of primary carcinomas of the uterine cervix at different stages of tumour development. The therapeutic response was not dependent on EGF-R expression solely, but also on the pre-treatment microvessel density.
