Treating Adults with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: New Pharmacotherapy Options

Advances in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) therapy has led to long-term survival rates in children. However, only 30%-40% of adults achieve long-term disease-free survival. After relapse, the outcome of salvage chemotherapy is very disappointing with less than 10% of long survival. Novel agents are therefore desperately required to improve response rates and survival, but also the quality of life of patients. Areas covered: The following review is a comprehensive summary of various novel options reported over the past few years in the therapeutic area of adult ALL. Expert opinion: Identifying key components involved in disease pathogenesis may lead to new approaches. In a near future, the incorporation of monoclonal antibodies and T-cell directed approaches including blinatumomab and chimeric antigen receptor T cells may increase the cure rates and may reduce the need for intensive therapy.