Likely new standard of care: Blinatumomab for children with relapsed B-ALL

Children with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) survived significantly longer when treated with immunotherapy agent blinatumomab as post-reinduction consolidation therapy before haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) compared with standard chemotherapy. Prof. Patrick A. Brown (Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, USA) presented the results of the randomised, phase 3 AALL1331 trial, which aimed to specifically test the benefits of the bispecific antibody blinatumomab (binding both CD19 expressed on B cells and CD3 expressed on T cells) in children and young adults with minimal residual disease (MRD) after chemotherapy [1]. The unmet need this trial attempted to address was that young patients with MRD are frequently unable to proceed to bone marrow transplant and are consequently prone to relapse and death. All patients ...

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Posted on 5 March, 202030 March, 2021