Recent advances in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a heterogeneous disease with a bimodal distribution. The progresses made in understanding its biology led to the development of targeted therapies. In this review, we summarize the current and future approaches in management of adult ALL. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) targeting BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase, monoclonal antibodies targeting cell surface antigens (CD19, CD20, and CD22), bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy are breakthrough treatments. They resulted in FDA approvals of blinatumomab in 2014, inotuzumab ozagamicin in 2017, and tisagenlecleucel in 2017 for relapsed/refractory ALL. Currently, long-term survival is achieved in more than 50% of patients with precursor B-ALL (50-70% in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive ALL), 50-60% T-ALL, and 80% mature B-ALL. Ongoing efforts exist to optimize therapeutic options in both the relapsed/refractory as well as the frontline settings. In the era of precision medicine, the future lies in using less cytotoxic and more targeted agents.