What is new in the treatment of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?
Article Details
- CitationCopy to clipboard
Castillo JJ, Treon SP
What is new in the treatment of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?
Leukemia. 2019 Nov;33(11):2555-2562. doi: 10.1038/s41375-019-0592-8. Epub 2019 Oct 7.
- PubMed ID
- 31591468 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The diagnosis of WM is established by the presence of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma in the bone marrow or other organs, a monoclonal IgM paraproteinemia and the recurrent MYD88 L265P somatic mutation. Some patients with WM can be asymptomatic, in which case treatment is not indicated. However, most patients with WM will become symptomatic during the course of the disease, due to anemia, hyperviscosity, neuropathy, or other processes, necessitating therapy. Current treatment options for symptomatic WM patients include alkylating agents, proteasome inhibitors and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. The approval of the oral Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib alone and in combination with rituximab has expanded the treatment options for WM patients. The present Perspective would focus on exciting treatment strategies under development for WM patients, such as proteasome inhibitors (e.g., ixazomib), BTK inhibitors (e.g., acalabrutinib, zanubrutinib, vecabrutinib), BCL2 inhibitors (e.g., venetoclax), and anti-CXCR4 antibodies (e.g., ulocuplumab), among others. It is certainly an exciting time for WM therapy development with novel and promising treatment options in the horizon.
DrugBank Data that Cites this Article
- Drug Targets
Drug Target Kind Organism Pharmacological Action Actions Acalabrutinib Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK Protein Humans YesInhibitorDetails Ibrutinib Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK Protein Humans YesInhibitorDetails Vecabrutinib Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK Protein Humans UnknownInhibitorDetails Venetoclax Apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 Protein Humans YesAntagonistInhibitorDetails Zanubrutinib Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK Protein Humans YesInhibitorDetails