Long-term outcomes with blinatumomab for infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL: multinational phase 2 study

Infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL have a poor prognosis. A multinational phase 2 study showed that adding blinatumomab (bispecific T-cell engager targeting CD19) to standard chemotherapy improved short-term outcomes for these patients. Long-term outcomes of this study have now been reported. Thiry infants received standard chemotherapy (Interfant-06 protocol) with one additional postinduction blinatumumob course. Compared with historical controls receiving Interfant-06 only, patients receiving blinatumomab had significantly better outcomes in terms of disease-free survival, overall survival, and cumulative incidence of relapse. No infection-related fatality occurred postinduction in the blinatumomab group, compared with 4% in the historical controls group. The authors conclude that adding blinatumomab to standard treatment for infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL resulted in sustained improvement in outcomes.