Options at the time of relapse after anti-BCMA therapy

Abstract

Abstract B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)–directed therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies (BsAbs), and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CARTs), have shown remarkable efficacy in patients with late-line myeloma with prior exposure to immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, and anti-CD38 antibodies. However, optimal sequencing of these agents remains to be determined, and management of these patients once they relapse has become a new unmet need. Fortunately, there are multiple options with demonstrated activity after anti-BCMA therapy, including a different BCMA-directed therapy, non-BCMA-directed CARTs and BsAbs, novel non–T-cell–engaging drugs, and standard triplet/quadruplet regimens or salvage stem cell transplant. Factors to consider when choosing a next therapy after anti-BCMA therapy include patient characteristics and preferences, prior therapies and toxicities, disease biology, timing from last anti-BCMA therapy, and, in the future, BCMA expression and immune profiling. While current data are limited to retrospective studies and small prospective cohorts, the serial use of T-cell–engaging therapies looks particularly promising, especially as BCMA-directed therapies move up earlier in the myeloma treatment course and additional CARTs and BsAbs against alternative targets (eg, G protein–coupled receptor, family C, group 5, member D and Fc receptor-homolog 5) become available. Going forward, ongoing prospective studies, large real-world data sets, and better tools to interrogate antigen expression and immune cell fitness hopefully will provide further insight into how to best individualize therapy for this difficult-to-treat population.