Vol 7, No 4 (2016)
Review paper
Published online: 2017-04-07
Blinatumomab — a novel drug in patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Hematologia 2016;7(4):312-326.
Abstract
The long term prognosis of adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is poor. There is no standard treatment for relapsed ALL and reinduction therapy should only be a “bridge treatment” in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo- -HSCT). In spite of obtaining an initial response to treatment, the duration of response using standard chemotherapy is usually short and the next relapses are chemoresistant. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies as a targeted therapy represents a novel approach for treating patients with R/R ALL. The objective of immunotherapy is to improve the relapse-free and overall survival without increasing the toxicity of treatment. In this review, the mechanism of action and clinical efficacy of the novel bispecific antibody blinatumomab is discussed. The European Medicines Agency approved blinatumomab in 2015 for treating adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome negative R/R B-ALL.
Keywords: blinatumomabbispecific antibodiesacute lymphoblastic leukemia
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