The evolving landscape of antibody-drug conjugates in small cell lung cancer: From research progress to clinical application

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), one of the emerging developing classes of antitumor drugs, have transformed the therapeutic paradigm in oncology. It stands out due to its properties of boasting the strength of both chemotherapy and targeted therapy. In small cell lung cancer (SCLC), ADC has also demonstrated its potential and appealing effect. Clinical trials of ADCs in SCLC are currently in full swing. While ADC has brought some encouraging results so far, several obstacles have been encountered, such as drug resistance, drug toxicities and the difficulty in the selection of patients benefiting from ADCs. Thus, a deepened and comprehensive understanding of the fundamental researches, as well as summarization of ADC development in SCLC might offer us some enlightenment and solutions to these tricky issues. Therefore, in the present review, we elaborate on the structure and mechanism of ADC, clinical trials conducted in SCLC. Additionally, we also outline the obstacles and propose future directions of ADC in SCLC, highlighting its in-depth research and prospective application in SCLC.