Philippe Rousselot, MD, PhD from Versailles Hospital and University, Versailles, France, discusses the role of inotuzumab ozogamicin, which is currently being used as a newer treatment for patients in the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) relapse/refractory setting. inotuzumab ozogamicin is an investigational antibody-drug immunoconjugate, with a CD22 affinity. inotuzumab ozogamicin works by targeting the CD22 antigen, once internalized into the malignant cell, it is combined with calicheamicin (a sort of chemotherapy) which is then released to destroy it. Prof. Rousselot mentions how inotuzumab can also have some toxicities, mainly of the platelets and the liver. He talks about a study (NCT01564784) presented at the congress which compared inotuzumab ozogamicin with the best available therapy used at the moment. The results show a promising increase in molecular response rate, however not so much in survival. Prof. Rousselot concludes the talk by emphasizing the continuous use of this drug in the best possible way, in order to improve the survival rate for those patients. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The role of inotuzumab ozogamicin in ALL
