Monoclonal Antibodies: The Greatest Resource to Treat Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a currently incurable hematologic cancer. This disease is characterized by immunological alterations of myeloid cells and lymphocytes. The first-line therapy involves the use of classic chemotherapy; however, many patients have a relapsed form that could evolve into a refractory MM. The new therapeutic frontiers involve the use of new monoclonal antibodies (Mab) such as daratumumab, isatuximab, and elotuzumab. In addition to monoclonal antibodies, new immunotherapies based on modern bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy have been investigated. For this reason, immunotherapy represents the greatest hope for the treatment of MM. This review intends to focus the attention on the new approved antibody targets. The most important are: CD38 (daratumumab and isatuximab), SLAM7 (elotuzumab), and BCMA (belantamab mafodotin) for the treatment of MM currently used in clinical practice. Although the disease is still incurable, the future perspective is to find the best therapeutic combination among all available drugs.

Automated summary

Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematologic cancer characterized by immunological alterations in myeloid cells and lymphocytes. The current first-line therapy involves chemotherapy, but there is a high relapse rate and refractory MM cases. New monoclonal antibodies (Mab) including daratumumab, isatuximab, and elotuzumab, along with bispecific antibodies and CAR T cell therapy, have shown promise in immunotherapy for MM. CD38 (daratumumab and isatuximab), SLAM7 (elotuzumab) and BCMA (belantamab mafodotin) are the main antibody targets for MM treatment. Although MM is still incurable, combining the available drugs offers hope for improving outcomes.