How can immunotherapy be used to treat acute myeloid leukemia, and what are the most common side effects?

How can
immunotherapy be used to treat AML,

And what are the most common side effects

immunotherapy for AML?

We know that immunotherapy is effective in
AML because for many patients

the only curative option for AML is stem

cell transplant,
which is a type of immunotherapy.

So we know that because the only cure
is through an a type of immunotherapy

therapy, that other ways to harness
the immune system have to be effective

in this disease.

However, it's been challenging
to understand exactly which ways

to harness the immune system
that can be effective in AML.

The most common side
effects of immunotherapy

are when the immune system starts
causing reactions in the body.

So this can take form in many different
manifestations, such as attacking the

GI tract or attacking the thyroid gland
or attacking the heart.

And we have become very good
as oncologists in recognizing

these side effects and how to interact
and how to intervene on them.

The first

question really is, you know, where is
immunotherapy being used and employed,

in acute myeloid leukemia and,

immunotherapy has actually been used
in leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia

for a number of years
now in the form of bone marrow transplant.

Really an allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Bone marrow transplant really
fundamentally is a form of immunotherapy.

You know, where you get a donor’s
cells, you wipe out the old-

the patient's old immune system and
hopefully wipe out any remaining leukemia.

But even if there is a tiny bit left,
you infuse donor cells

that make a whole new immune system
to clear out the bad leukemia cells.

So fundamentally bone marrow transplants,
another term for that is allogeneic

stem cell transplants.

Cells from somebody else from a donor.

And that's fundamentally
a form of immunotherapy.

In terms of the side effects there,
you know, so bone marrow transplants,

obviously
they do have a lot of side effects.

And it's a very,

you know,
I think

have to be a very thoughtful decision
about whether to undertake a bone

marrow transplant.

But for our AML patients
who are candidates and who are fit,

who have higher risk or even intermediate
risk forms of leukemia, acute

myeloid leukemia, the best chance
for those patients to be cured

is potentially to undergo a bone
marrow transplant.

And so if that's done, the side effects,
you know,

are there are multiple possible
side effects.

You know, they include things like graft
versus host disease where the donor cells,

you hope they kill off the leukemia cells,
but they could attack the patient.

They could also have side effects with the
the new immune system is weak.

So there's risk of infection, you know.

And there's the risk of toxicity to
to organs.

So there's a there are many risks.

But again it's about carefully weighing
the risks and benefits in terms of where

immunotherapy is being employed,
you know, outside of bone marrow

transplants, that's still I would say
for the most part investigational

in acute myeloid leukemia,
and we can talk about, you know,

some other areas in which that's, that's
being used, the specific side effects.