Antibody Therapies for Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract

Large B-cell lymphomas (LBCLs) constitute a subgroup of aggressive but highly curable lymphoproliferative diseases. Treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients still represents an unmet clinical need, and novel drugs and combinations are in continuous development. The pan-B cell panel of surface antigens that characterizes LBCL leads to a large umbrella of druggable targets. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) express their activity against lymphoma by targeting multiple tumor-specific antigens. This category consists of a number of molecules with different mechanisms of action, including naked mAbs, radioimmunoconjugates, antibody-drug conjugates, checkpoint inhibitors, and bispecific antibodies. In the last decade, apart from the well-known role of the anti-CD20 mAb rituximab, novel mAbs have led to remarkable steps forward in the treatment of R/R LBCL in monotherapy and combined with chemotherapy. Multiple studies are in development trying to bring these novel compounds into the frontline setting to empower the RCHOP effect or as alternative chemotherapy-free options for elderly/unfit patients. This review provides insight into antilymphoma mAbs, focused on the efficacy and safety of the main molecules approved or in development for LBCL andperspectives on the treatment of this disease.

Loop CD20/CD19 CAR-T cells eradicate B-cell malignancies efficiently

“…CD20 expression varies greatly among B-cell malignancies, patients with the same malignancy, and even subpopulations within a single patient (Pavlasova and Mraz, 2020). CD20 is expressed by about 40% of precursor B-cell ALL cases (DeAngelo, 2015), and most cases of NHL (Novo et al, 2021) and CLL (Nisticò et al, 2020), which leads to CAR-T cells targeting CD20 as an option for treating these diseases (Marofi et al, 2021). The expression of CD20 in Bcell ALL is linked to a poor prognosis (Thomas et al, 2009).…”