Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has shown good responses to immunotherapies, including monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors and bispecific antibodies. Here, Naval Daver, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, gives an overview of these therapies, and delivers an in-depth description of the evidence that has accumulated suggesting checkpoint inhibitors in combination with hypomethylating agents, such as azacitidine, could be beneficial in AML. The evidence includes: the infiltration of CD8+ immune cells into the bone marrow; a raised expression of PD1 in leukemic cells; and the fact that hypomethylating agents upregulate the expression of beneficial immune proteins. This video was recorded at the 23rd Congress of the European Hematological Association (EHA) 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Immunotherapy in AML: azacitidine plus checkpoint inhibitors
