An international study led by the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has provided the first data that indicate that patients with lymphoma previously treated with bispecific antibodies can undergo an allogenic transplant – that is, from a donor – of blood stem cells with the same safety as other patients.
This research, led by the clinical hematologist of the ICO Hospitalet and researcher at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Marta Peña, and published in the scientific journal Blood Advances, has analyzed 148 patients and confirms that new treatments with immunotherapy do not increase neither complications nor mortality associated with transplantation. In addition, the study points out that, in some cases, the risk of lymphoma relapse could be even lower, which places bispecific antibodies as a possible tool to improve the results of the process.
Bispecific antibodies, a new opportunity for high-risk patients
Bispecific antibodies, used in patients who have exhausted other therapeutic options, activate the immune system to directly attack the cells of the lymphoma. Despite the good initial results, until now it was unknown how this type of immunotherapy could affect the results of a posterior bone marrow transplant, a complex but potentially curative procedure.
According to the first author of the study, Marta Peña, “We are finding more and more patients with refractory lymphoma in various lines of treatment that finally respond to bispecific antibodies. Until now, however, we did not know if undergoing an allogenic consolidation transplant could increase the risk of complications. Our study shows that the procedure is safe and that, in some cases, it could even contribute to better control of the disease, which could allow this strategy to be incorporated into selected patients.”
Although it is a retrospective study and these results will have to be validated in broader cohorts, the authors consider that it represents a turning point: it shows that combining bispecific antibodies with transplantation is feasible, safe, and potentially beneficial. Haematologists and researchers from the ICO Hospitalet-IDIBELL, Marta Peña and Alberto Mussetti, authors of the study, highlight that these data, the first of international scope in this field, can help guide clinical decisions and reinforce the role of transplantation as a therapeutic option in high-risk patients who respond to new immunotherapies.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research center created in 2004 and specialized in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. It has a team of more than 1,500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1,400 scientific articles per year. IDIBELL is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centres accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the HR Excellence in Research program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL is an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).