Innovations in Monoclonal Antibody Tumor Targeting

SELECTED CASE A 33-YEAR-OLD woman presented with a history of infertility following a normal pregnancy three years previously. A hysterosalpingogram showed a fallopian tube blockage. She underwent an exploratory laparoscopy with findings that suggested chronic pelvic inflammatory disease. During a laparotomy for tubuloplasty she was found to have a ruptured adenocarcinoma of the appendix, with tumor coating the liver, diaphragm, and peritoneum. The peritoneal cavity was washed out. She remained asymptomatic, with no progression of disease seen during laparoscopy one year later. Three years later, during a physical examination, she was found to have a large, pelvic recurrence and underwent abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and debulking of gross tumor, with residual tumor left behind. Radiographic evaluation, including a computed tomographic scan of the abdomen, an intravenous pyelogram, and a barium enema examination, showed no evidence of disease. She was then referred to the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer