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Review
. 2019 May 19:10:2040620719849496.
doi: 10.1177/2040620719849496. eCollection 2019.

Novel monoclonal antibody-based treatment strategies in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Veronica A Guerra  1 , Elias J Jabbour  1 , Farhad Ravandi  1 , Hagop Kantarjian  1 , Nicholas J Short  2
Affiliations
Review

Novel monoclonal antibody-based treatment strategies in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Veronica A Guerra et al. Ther Adv Hematol. .

Abstract

Adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has a poor overall survival compared with pediatric ALL where cure rates are observed in more than 90% of patients. The recent development of novel monoclonal antibodies targeting CD20, CD19, and CD22 has changed the long-term outcome of this disease, both in the frontline setting (e.g. rituximab) and for patients with relapsed/refractory disease (e.g. inotuzumab ozogamicin and blinatumomab). The CD3-CD19 bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody blinatumomab is also the first drug approved in ALL for patients with persistent or recurrent measurable residual disease, providing a new treatment paradigm for these patients. Several new agents are also in development that use novel constructs or target alternative surface epitopes such as CD123, CD25, and CD38. Herein, we review the role of monoclonal antibodies in adult ALL and summarize the current and future approaches in ALL, including novel combination therapies and the possibility of early incorporation of these agents into treatment regimens.

Keywords: acute lymphoblastic leukemia; blinatumomab; inotuzumab ozogamicin; monoclonal antibodies; rituximab.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: NJS has received consulting fees from Takeda Oncology and honoraria from Amgen. EJJ has received research funding from Amgen, Pfizer, Adaptive Biotechnologies, AbbVie, Takeda, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Novartis. FR has received research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb, honoraria from Ariad, and has served on an advisory board for Bristol-Myers Squibb. HK has received research funding from Amgen, Ariad, Astex, BMS, Novartis, Pfizer, and honoraria from AbbVie, Amgen, Ariad, Bristol-Myers Squibb, ImmunoGen, Orsenix, Pfizer. The other authors have no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.

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