What is "abagovomab"

n. A particular monoclonal antibody.

Abagovomab is a mouse anti- idiotype monoclonal antibody whose variable epitope mirrors a tumour antigen ( CA-125) highly expressed in the epithelial ovarian cancer. Abagovomab does not bind directly to CA-125, but it works as a "surrogate" antigen, enabling the immune system to identify and attack tumour cells displaying the CA-125 protein. Through this, it is hoped that the body's immune system may be able to combat any remaining individual tumour cells and thus prevent recurrence of the disease.