Extramedullary relapse and discordant CD19 expression between bone marrow and extramedullary sites in relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia after blinatumomab treatment

Blinatumomab, a bispecific T-cell engager antibody construct targeting CD19, has been shown to improve the outcome in patients with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Treatment with blinatumomab demonstrated significant survival benefit over chemotherapy, supporting its use as a bridge therapy to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. 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 - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research