{"title":"Understanding Infection Risk with Anti-BCMA Bispecific Antibodies.","authors":"Alfred L Garfall, Edward A Stadtmauer","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0157","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0157","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>Lancman and colleagues find that infection risk in patients treated with anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma is associated with severe immunoglobulin deficiency and may be mitigated by immunoglobulin replacement therapy. The study has implications for managing infection risk and raises questions about the optimal duration of treatment with these potent, novel immunotherapies. See related article by Lancman et al., p. 440 (4) .</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"427-429"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618722/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41156075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ross Firestone, Alexander M Lesokhin, Saad Z Usmani
{"title":"An Embarrassment of Riches: Three FDA-Approved Bispecific Antibodies for Relapsed Refractory Multiple Myeloma.","authors":"Ross Firestone, Alexander M Lesokhin, Saad Z Usmani","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0176","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0176","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>In the past year, three new bispecific antibodies have received accelerated FDA approval for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. In this article, we review the available data for these three agents, teclistamab, elranatamab, and talquetamab, and discuss practical considerations for their use in clinical settings while the medical community awaits randomized phase III clinical trial datasets comparing them to standard-of-care regimens.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"433-436"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618718/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41214665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Year of Advances in Precision Therapy for Blood Cancers.","authors":"","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0193","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0193","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>Recent advances in precision therapies of blood cancers are highlighted here, adapted from the 13th edition of the annual AACR Cancer Progress Report (https://cancerprogressreport.aacr.org/progress/) to U.S. Congress and the public.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"423-426"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618723/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41239236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Potent Personalized Venetoclax Partners for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Identified by Ex Vivo Drug Screening.","authors":"Pamela S Becker","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0180","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0180","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>High-throughput screens (HTS) have been utilized to assess the efficacy of single drugs against patient tumor samples with the purpose of optimizing precision therapy, but testing the synergy of drug combinations can identify the ideal second drug to add. With novel sophisticated HTS, effective venetoclax combinations can be revealed that provide the cell state, phenotype, and molecular features of the susceptible and resistant cell populations. See related article by Eide, Kurtz et al., p. 452 (14) .</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"437-439"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10625347/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41214666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guido Lancman, Kian Parsa, Krzysztof Kotlarz, Lisa Avery, Alaina Lurie, Alex Lieberman-Cribbin, Hearn Jay Cho, Samir S Parekh, Shambavi Richard, Joshua Richter, Cesar Rodriguez, Adriana Rossi, Larysa J Sanchez, Santiago Thibaud, Sundar Jagannath, Ajai Chari
{"title":"IVIg Use Associated with Ten-Fold Reduction of Serious Infections in Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated with Anti-BCMA Bispecific Antibodies.","authors":"Guido Lancman, Kian Parsa, Krzysztof Kotlarz, Lisa Avery, Alaina Lurie, Alex Lieberman-Cribbin, Hearn Jay Cho, Samir S Parekh, Shambavi Richard, Joshua Richter, Cesar Rodriguez, Adriana Rossi, Larysa J Sanchez, Santiago Thibaud, Sundar Jagannath, Ajai Chari","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0049","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BCMA-targeted bispecific antibodies (BiAb) are efficacious in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma; however, serious infections have emerged as important toxicities. In this retrospective study, we characterized all infections and their risk factors, and evaluated the impact of infection prophylaxis in patients treated with BCMA-targeted BiAbs. Among 37 patients, 15 (41%) experienced a grade 3-5 infection, with two infection-related deaths during deep remissions. Most (84%) infections occurred during disease remissions. The cumulative probability of grade 3-5 infection increased over time with no plateau. Among responders (n = 26), profound hypogammaglobulinemia occurred in 100% and continued throughout the entire duration of treatment. During periods when patients were receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), the rate of grade 3-5 infections was 90% lower than during observation (incidence rate ratio, 0.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.80; P = 0.0307). No other risk factors for infection were identified. This study demonstrates that profound hypogammaglobulinemia is universal with BCMA-targeted BiAbs, with intravenous immunoglobulin potentially abrogating most of the infection risk.</p><p><strong>Significance: </strong>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively analyze risk factors and mitigation strategies to prevent infections in myeloma patients receiving anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies. Profound and prolonged hypogammaglobulinemia was universal among responders, while immunoglobulin replacement was associated with 90% lower rates of grade 3-5 infections. See related commentary by Garfall and Stadtmauer, p. 427 . This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 419.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"440-451"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618720/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41131345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Annika Nelde, Heiko Schuster, Jonas S Heitmann, Jens Bauer, Yacine Maringer, Melissa Zwick, Jens-Peter Volkmer, James Y Chen, Anna M Paczulla Stanger, Ariane Lehmann, Bismark Appiah, Melanie Märklin, Elke Rücker-Braun, Helmut R Salih, Malte Roerden, Sarah M Schroeder, Max-Felix Häring, Andreas Schlosser, Johannes Schetelig, Marc Schmitz, Melanie Boerries, Natalie Köhler, Claudia Lengerke, Ravindra Majeti, Irving L Weissman, Hans-Georg Rammensee, Juliane S Walz
{"title":"Immune Surveillance of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Is Mediated by HLA-Presented Antigens on Leukemia Progenitor Cells.","authors":"Annika Nelde, Heiko Schuster, Jonas S Heitmann, Jens Bauer, Yacine Maringer, Melissa Zwick, Jens-Peter Volkmer, James Y Chen, Anna M Paczulla Stanger, Ariane Lehmann, Bismark Appiah, Melanie Märklin, Elke Rücker-Braun, Helmut R Salih, Malte Roerden, Sarah M Schroeder, Max-Felix Häring, Andreas Schlosser, Johannes Schetelig, Marc Schmitz, Melanie Boerries, Natalie Köhler, Claudia Lengerke, Ravindra Majeti, Irving L Weissman, Hans-Georg Rammensee, Juliane S Walz","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0020","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Therapy-resistant leukemia stem and progenitor cells (LSC) are a main cause of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) relapse. LSC-targeting therapies may thus improve outcome of patients with AML. Here we demonstrate that LSCs present HLA-restricted antigens that induce T-cell responses allowing for immune surveillance of AML. Using a mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics approach, we characterized the antigenic landscape of patient LSCs and identified AML- and AML/LSC-associated HLA-presented antigens absent from normal tissues comprising nonmutated peptides, cryptic neoepitopes, and neoepitopes of common AML driver mutations of NPM1 and IDH2. Functional relevance of shared AML/LSC antigens is illustrated by presence of their cognizant memory T cells in patients. Antigen-specific T-cell recognition and HLA class II immunopeptidome diversity correlated with clinical outcome. Together, these antigens shared among AML and LSCs represent prime targets for T cell-based therapies with potential of eliminating residual LSCs in patients with AML.</p><p><strong>Significance: </strong>The elimination of therapy-resistant leukemia stem and progenitor cells (LSC) remains a major challenge in the treatment of AML. This study identifies and functionally validates LSC-associated HLA class I and HLA class II-presented antigens, paving the way to the development of LSC-directed T cell-based immunotherapeutic approaches for patients with AML. See related commentary by Ritz, p. 430 . This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 419.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"468-489"},"PeriodicalIF":11.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618727/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41239314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher A Eide, Stephen E Kurtz, Andy Kaempf, Nicola Long, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Tamilla Nechiporuk, Ariane Huang, Charles A Dibb, Akosha Taylor, Daniel Bottomly, Shannon K McWeeney, Jessica Minnier, Curtis A Lachowiez, Jennifer N Saultz, Ronan T Swords, Anupriya Agarwal, Bill H Chang, Brian J Druker, Jeffrey W Tyner
{"title":"Clinical Correlates of Venetoclax-Based Combination Sensitivities to Augment Acute Myeloid Leukemia Therapy.","authors":"Christopher A Eide, Stephen E Kurtz, Andy Kaempf, Nicola Long, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Tamilla Nechiporuk, Ariane Huang, Charles A Dibb, Akosha Taylor, Daniel Bottomly, Shannon K McWeeney, Jessica Minnier, Curtis A Lachowiez, Jennifer N Saultz, Ronan T Swords, Anupriya Agarwal, Bill H Chang, Brian J Druker, Jeffrey W Tyner","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0014","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax combined with the hypomethylating agent azacytidine shows significant clinical benefit in a subset of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, resistance limits response and durability. We prospectively profiled the ex vivo activity of 25 venetoclax-inclusive combinations on primary AML patient samples to identify those with improved potency and synergy compared with venetoclax + azacytidine (Ven + azacytidine). Combination sensitivities correlated with tumor cell state to discern three patterns: primitive selectivity resembling Ven + azacytidine, monocytic selectivity, and broad efficacy independent of cell state. Incorporation of immunophenotype, mutation, and cytogenetic features further stratified combination sensitivity for distinct patient subtypes. We dissect the biology underlying the broad, cell state-independent efficacy for the combination of venetoclax plus the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. Together, these findings support opportunities for expanding the impact of venetoclax-based drug combinations in AML by leveraging clinical and molecular biomarkers associated with ex vivo responses.</p><p><strong>Significance: </strong>By mapping drug sensitivity data to clinical features and tumor cell state, we identify novel venetoclax combinations targeting patient subtypes who lack sensitivity to Ven + azacytidine. This provides a framework for a taxonomy of AML informed by readily available sets of clinical and genetic features obtained as part of standard care. See related commentary by Becker, p. 437 . This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 419.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"452-467"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618724/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10231559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immunologic Targets in AML.","authors":"Jerome Ritz","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0161","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0161","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>In this issue of Blood Cancer Discovery, Nelde and colleagues used a sensitive mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics approach to characterize the antigenic landscape of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and were able to identify immunogenic peptides presented by both leukemia stem cells (LSC) and bulk primary AML blasts. These immunogenic peptides elicit primarily CD4 T-cell responses and the diversity of the HLA class II immunopeptidome and presence of CD4 memory T-cell responses were both associated with improved clinical outcome. See related article by Nelde et al., p. 468 (1) .</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"430-432"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10618716/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41239315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlos L Arteaga, John L Cleveland, Margaret Foti, Ruben A Mesa, Louis M Weiner, Cheryl L Willman, David A Tuveson
{"title":"AACR Cancer Centers Alliance: Fostering Collaboration and Innovation to Advance Lifesaving Scientific Discoveries for Patients.","authors":"Carlos L Arteaga, John L Cleveland, Margaret Foti, Ruben A Mesa, Louis M Weiner, Cheryl L Willman, David A Tuveson","doi":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0187","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Summary: </strong>Basic and clinical cancer research discoveries stemming from the nation's cancer centers have markedly improved outcomes for many cancer patients. Despite this forward momentum in our progress against this complex disease, cancer in all its forms remains a major public health challenge that touches the lives of nearly every American, either directly or indirectly. The newly formed AACR Cancer Centers Alliance will accelerate the pace of discovery by providing an ongoing mechanism for transferring new knowledge, sharing resources, developing national demonstration projects, and driving innovation that impacts cancer science, cancer care delivery, and science and health policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":29944,"journal":{"name":"Blood Cancer Discovery","volume":" ","pages":"420-422"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10621678/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41142208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}