26 Dec 2025 08:00
Episode 395: Pharmacology 101: Monoclonal Antibodies
"They [monoclonal antibodies] are able to cause tumor cell death by binding to and blocking to necessary growth factor signaling pathways for tumor cell survival. That's going to be dependent on the target of the antibody, but I'll give an example of epidermal growth factor, or EGFR. This is overexpressed in several different kinds of cancers where activation of this growth factor increases the amount of proliferation and migration of cancer cells. So, if we bind to it and block to it, then that would help halt these pathways and stop cancer cell growth," Carissa Ganihong, PharmD, BCOP, oncology and bone marrow transplantation clinical pharmacist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about monoclonal antibodies.
Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0
Earn 0.75 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) (including 45 minutes of pharmacotherapeutic content) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by December 26, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge in the history of, the mechanism of action of, and the use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of cancer.
Episode Notes
- Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.
- ONS Podcast™ episodes:
- Pharmacology 101 series
- Episode 391: Pharmacology 101: Antibody–Drug Conjugates
- Episode 383: Pharmacology 101: Bispecific Antibodies
- Episode 375: Pharmacology 101: VEGF Inhibitors
- Episode 338: High-Volume Subcutaneous Injections: The Oncology Nurse's Role
- Episode 283: Desensitization Strategies to Reintroduce Treatment After an Infusion-Related Reaction
- Episode 275: Bispecific Monoclonal Antibodies in Hematologic Cancers and Solid Tumors
- ONS Voice articles:
