Dr. Kaplan on Research With Bispecific Monoclonal Antibodies in Follicular Lymphoma

Lawrence D. Kaplan, MD, clinical professor of medicine, director, Adult Lymphoma Program, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses research with bispecific monoclonal antibodies in follicular lymphoma.

Bispecific monoclonal antibodies were a big focus of research at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting, says Kaplan, most of which target CD3 and CD20. Not only were these agents active in aggressive B-cell lymphomas, but they appear to have significant response rates in indolent B-cell lymphomas as well, including in patients who recur after CAR T-cell therapy.

Many of these studies have limited follow-up. However, these agents are expected to be a lot easier to administer in the outpatient setting with somewhat less toxicity than CAR T-cell therapy, says Kaplan. As a result, these agents may become more widely available to the patient populations who need them, Kaplan concludes.