Dr. Lonial on the Advantage of Targeting BCMA in Multiple Myeloma

Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, professor and chair in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology of Emory University School of Medicine and chief medical officer of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses the advantage of targeting BCMA in multiple myeloma.

The advantage of BCMA over CD38 or SLAMF7 is that the target is expressed much more exclusively on plasma cells, says Lonial; as such, with BCMA, there is less off-target impact. BCMA provides a second or third antibody target to go after, adds Lonial.

Ligation of BCMA is one of the reasons why myeloma cells become resistant to available therapies, explains Lonial. By blocking BCMA through any of these approaches, the tumor cell can be targeted and it may offer a way to overcome drug resistance, concludes Lonial.