Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Aug;12(4):344-357.
doi: 10.1007/s11899-017-0397-7.

Novel Immunotherapies for Multiple Myeloma

Mattia D'Agostino  1 , Mario Boccadoro  1 , Eric L Smith  2
Affiliations
Review

Novel Immunotherapies for Multiple Myeloma

Mattia D'Agostino et al. Curr Hematol Malig Rep. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The treatment landscape of multiple myeloma is rapidly changing; however, despite improvement in patients' survival, it still remains a largely incurable disease. One hallmark of myeloma is substantial immune dysfunction leading to an increased infection rate and the inability of immune surveillance to detect neoplastic cells. Here, we critically analyze clinical approaches to harness the immune system to overcome this defect with a focus on antibody based and adoptive cellular therapies.

Recent findings: Clinical trials exploring these immunotherapies to treat myeloma are now well underway and show promising results. In relapsed myeloma, monoclonal antibodies directed against plasma cell antigens and immune checkpoints have already shown substantial efficacy. In parallel, trials of adoptive cellular therapy have exciting promise in myeloma, having induced dramatic responses in a handful of early study participants. Taken together, immunotherapeutic approaches hold enormous potential in the field of multiple myeloma and in the near future can be combined with or even replace the current standard of care.

Keywords: BCMA; CAR T cell; CD38; Cellular therapy; Checkpoint blockade; PD-1.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Mattia D’Agostino declares no potential conflicts of interest.

Mario Boccadoro reports personal fees from Sanofi, Celgene, Amgen, Janssen, Novartis, Abbvie, BMS, personal fees from Celgene, Janssen, Amgen, BMS, Mundipharma, Novartis, Sanofi, outside the submitted work.

Eric L. Smith reports personal fees from Juno Therapeutics. In addition, Dr. Smith has a patent on CAR T cell therapy targeting multiple myeloma specific antigens pending with royalties paid by Juno Therapeutics, and a patent on antibody and bispecifc antibody therapy targeting multiple myeloma specific antigens pending that has not been licensed.

References

    1. Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Garshell J, Neyman N, Altekruse SF, et al. SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2010 -previous version - SEER cancer statistics review. Bethesda: National Cancer Institute; 2010.
    1. Kumar SK, Dispenzieri A, Lacy MQ, Gertz MA, Buadi FK, Pandey S, et al. Continued improvement in survival in multiple myeloma: changes in early mortality and outcomes in older patients. Leukemia. 2014;28(5):1122–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kumar SK, Rajkumar SV, Dispenzieri A, Lacy MQ, Hayman SR, Buadi FK, et al. Improved survival in multiple myeloma and the impact of novel therapies. Blood. 2008;111(5):2516–20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Papadas A, Asimakopoulos F. Mechanisms of resistance in multiple myeloma. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2017. pp. 1–38. - PubMed
    1. Tete SM, Bijl M, Sahota SS, Bos NA. Immune defects in the risk of infection and response to vaccination in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma Front Immunol. Frontiers Media SA. 2014;5:257. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances