Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia: A literature review

Abstract

Background: Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that is more prevalent in children. Several treatment methods are available for ALL, including chemotherapy, upfront treatment regimens, and pediatric-inspired regimens for adults. Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) are the novel Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved remedies for the relapsed/refractory (R/R) adult ALL. In this article, we aimed to review studies that investigated the efficacy and safety of Mabs on ALL.

Methods: We gathered studies through a complete search with all proper related keywords in ISI Web of Science, SID, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed for English language publications up to 2020.

Results: The most commonly studied Mabs for ALL therapies are CD-19, CD-20, CD-22, and CD-52. The best results have been reported in the administration of blinatumomab, rituximab, ofatumumab, and inotuzumab with acceptable low side effects.

Conclusion: Appling personalized approach for achieving higher efficacy is one of the most important aspects of treatment. Moreover, we recommend that the wide use of these Mabs depends on designing further cost-effectiveness trials in this field.

Keywords: Monoclonal antibodies; acute lymphocytic leukemia; anti-cancer; targeted therapy.