The Transport of Specific Monoclonal Antibodies in Tumour Cords.

Blood flow in tumour vasculature carries oxygen and nutrients necessary for cell life and proliferation, and allows delivery of therapeutic agents within the tumour. To reach their target cells, these agents must extravasate and be transported by diffusion and by the convection associated to the movement of extracellular fluid. Convective transport may become important for therapeutic agents with large molecular weight or size, such as the monoclonal antibodies or the viruses used as vectors in gene therapy [11]. The high interstitial fluid pressure, exhibited by most solid tumors, is thought to be a barrier for fluid extravasation and efficient convective transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]