Bispecific antibodies in immunotherapy for adult acute leukemia: latest updates from the 65th American Society of Hematology 2023 Annual Meeting.

ABSTRACT

Introduction Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) represent a novel and potentially effective approach in cancer immunotherapy. These antibodies feature two unique binding domains, enabling them to simultaneously attach to two antigens or two epitopes of a single antigen. Recently, a variety of BsAbs targeting distinct B-cell antigens and myeloid lineage-specific surface markers-such as CD19xCD3, CD38xCD3, and CD123xCD3-have demonstrated promising results in heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R ALL) and relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) patients. Areas covered New trail results were reported by different research groups at the 65th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). We provide a summary of the latest progress in BsAbs for immunotherapy in adult acute leukemia. Expert opinion B-ALL is the most favored leukemia for treatment with BsAbs, unlike T-ALL and AML, which are limited in constructs and results. The clinical application of blinatumomab in the first-line setting, combined with other therapies, has clearly benefited these B-ALL patients, especially older adults, due to its lower toxicity. In the B-ALL relapsed/refractory setting, new combinations with blinatumomab are under investigation, such as PD-1 or CTLA-4 inhibitors. We believe that with more clinical trial results, it is possible that blinatumomab will be used in new clinical indications soon. No novel BsAbs developed for B-ALL have yielded better results.