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The Pathologist / Issues / 2026 / June / Precision Diagnostics and the ADC Revolution
Oncology Bioinformatics Precision medicine Companion diagnostics Digital and computational pathology Digital Pathology Molecular Pathology Voices in the Community

Precision Diagnostics and the ADC Revolution

Antibody-drug conjugates are transforming cancer care, but their success depends on more precise, sensitive, and data-driven diagnostics

By James Strachan 06/15/2026 Interview 10 min read
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Clinical Scorecard: Precision Diagnostics and the ADC Revolution

At a Glance

CategoryDetail
Condition
Key MechanismsTargeting protein biomarkers on tumor cells.
Target Population
Care SettingClinical laboratories utilizing IHC and computational pathology.

Key Highlights

  • Rapid growth in ADC development with ongoing clinical trials.
  • Recent regulatory approvals for ADCs targeting various tumor antigens.
  • Advancements in linker technology enhancing targeting precision.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

  • Use IHC as the preferred method for assessing ADC biomarkers.

Management

  • Consider ADCs for patients with low biomarker expression levels.

Monitoring & Follow-up

  • Employ computational pathology to enhance sensitivity in biomarker assessment.

Risks

  • Traditional IHC may overlook patients with low expression levels.

Patient & Prescribing Data

ADCs can be effective with low levels of target protein expression.

Clinical Best Practices

  • Automate IHC workflows to improve reproducibility.
  • Utilize AI algorithms for assessing borderline biomarker cases.

Related Resources & Content

  • Source Article

This content is an AI-generated, fully rewritten summary based on a published scholarly article. It does not reproduce the original text and is not a substitute for the original publication. Readers are encouraged to consult the source for full context, data, and methodology.

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References

  1. A Matthius and E Quinn, “Experts forecast cancer research and treatment advances in 2025” (2025). Available at: https://www.aacr.org/blog/2025/01/10/experts-forecast-cancer-research-and-treatment-advances-in-2025/
  2. Grand View Research, “Oncology companion diagnostic market size report 2030.” Available at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/oncology-companion-diagnostics-market 
  3. M Katoh et al., “Antibody-drug conjugates targeting the cadherin, claudin and nectin families of adhesion molecules,” Front Mol Med, 5, 1661016 (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fmmed.2025.1661016. 
  4. B Nolting, “Linker technologies for antibody-drug conjugates,” Methods Mol Biol, 1045, 71-100 (2013). DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-541-5_5.
  5. J He et al., “Antibody-drug conjugates in cancer therapy: mechanisms and clinical studies,” MedComm, 5, 8, e671 (2020). DOI: 10.1002/mco2.671. PMID: 39070179.
  6. B Chen et al, “Antibody-drug conjugates in cancer therapy: current landscape, challenges, and future directions,” Mol Cancer, 24, 1, 279 (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12943-025-02489-2. 
  7. L Incorvaia et al., “Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a Predictive Biomarker for Pembrolizumab Therapy in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Adv Ther, 36, 10, 2600-2617 (2019). DOI: 10.1007/s12325-019-01057-7.
  8. AstraZeneca, “ Novel computational pathology-based TROP2 biomarker for datopotamab deruxtecan was predictive of clinical outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer in TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial” (2024). Available at: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2024/novel-computational-pathology-based-trop2-biomarker-for-dato-dxd-was-predictive-of-clinical-outcomes-in-patients-with-nsclc-in-tropion-lung01-phase-iii-trial.html

About the Author(s)

James Strachan

Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.

From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.

More Articles by James Strachan

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