A New Treatment Option For Follicular Lymphoma

Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma Patients

Lymphoma treatment is continually evolving and improving the focus on precision medicine. The FDA has recently approved mosunetuzumab-axgb (Lunsumio) as “a bispecific CD20-directed CD3 T-cell engager for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy.”

Mosunetuzumab-axgb is a first-of-its-kind bispecific antibody available to treat follicular lymphoma. “It is designed to attach to CD3, a protein on the surface of T-cells (a type of white blood cell) and CD20, a protein on the surface of B cells. This dual binding process is thought to bring your T cells close enough to engage with and release a type of protein called cytokines to kill cancerous B cells.”

Targeted therapy drugs are used to identify and eliminate cancer cells. Identifying a specific protein or genetic mutation enables a more efficient treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that attach to follicular lymphoma cells. Mosunetuzumab is designated as a monoclonal antibody.

A New Study

An open-label, multicenter study was done with relapsed/refractory FL patients. These are the main outcomes:

• The objective response rate (the percentage of people who had a partial or complete response to treatment) was 80%.
• The median follow-up time period was 14.9 months.
• The median duration of response was 22.8 months.

Dosing Schedule

Cycle 1: Day 1 - 1mg/ Day 8 - 2mg/ Day 15 - 60mg

Cycle 2: Day 1 - 60mg

Subsequent cycles: Day 1 - 30mg

A treatment cycle lasts 21 days and 8 cycles of mosunetuzumab are recommended. Patients can receive up to 17 cycles.

Important Safety Information

Mosunetuzumab treatment can cause Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). This is a severe side effect that can be life-threatening. Because of this risk, patients will receive medications to reduce the possibility of CRS between Cycle 1 and Cycle 2. Any of the following may indicate CRS:

• Fever, chills, or low blood pressure
• Irregular heartbeat, fatigue, or difficulty breathing
• Headache, confusion, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting

General Treatment

During your regular treatment schedule, you may experience these possible side effects:

• Neurologic problems
• Serious infections
• Low blood cell counts
• Growth or worsening of tumor-related problems

Read HERE for further information on clinical trial results.