Extramedullary relapse and discordant CD19 expression after blinatumomab treatment

Blinatumomab, a bispecific T-cell engager antibody construct targeting CD19, has been shown to improve the outcome in patients with relapsed/refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Treatment with blinatumomab demonstrated significant survival benefit over chemotherapy, supporting its use as a bridge therapy to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Unfortunately, following initial response, approximately 50% of responding patients eventually relapse. At the time of failure, the majority of patients have CD19-positive blasts, yet a concerning number of CD19-negative relapses has been reported.

Source: Current Problems in Cancer - May 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Christos Demosthenous, Chrysavgi Lalayanni, Michalis Iskas, Vassiliki Douka, Nikoleta Pastelli, Achilles Anagnostopoulos Source Type: research