Lla, Foà (Sapienza): “Blinatumomab is the first drug for MDR in oncohaematology”

“The bispecific antibody blinatumomab is the first drug approved to treat minimal residual disease (MRD) in a blood cancer. Over the years, for those involved in oncohaematology, this parameter has become of primary importance in clinical practice, in particular for its value in determining prognosis and therapeutic choices”. This was said by Robin Foà, professor emeritus of Hematology at the Sapienza University of Rome, today in Milan, during the event in which Amgen illustrated the results of the Phase III E1910 clinical study which demonstrate how the introduction of the monoclonal antibody bispecific blinatumomab in the first line of treatment significantly increases the overall survival of patients with newly diagnosed Ph- B lymphocyte acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

“In a pathology such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, monitoring MRD is very important, because it is the only way through which it is possible to set the best targeted therapeutic strategy for the individual patient – continues the professor – However, to obtain precise and reliable data it is It is important that the investigations are carried out in certified laboratories, with quality controls, using the same standardized techniques and following strict deadlines. For this reason, in Italy since 1996 it was decided to centralize “the study of” samples of patients with ALL enrolled in the clinical protocols of Gimema, the Italian adult hematological disease group in Rome, at Sapienza. MRD monitoring is then carried out, as well as in Rome, in 2 other laboratories: one in Bergamo and one in Palermo. It is important to underline that all 3 laboratories use the same molecular biology techniques (quantitative PCR), following a European standard. Making even the slightest mistake in monitoring MRD – concludes Foà – can really be a determining factor for the patient’s survival”.