Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in acute myeloid leukemia: past, present and future

Minerva Med. 2020 Oct;111(5):395-410. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4806.20.07019-6. Epub 2020 Sep 21.

Abstract

After being in the therapeutic wilderness for several decades, acute myeloid leukemia has been recently thrust into the limelight with a series of drug approvals. Technical refinements in production, genetic manipulation and chemical modification of monoclonal antibodies led to growing interest in antibodies-based treatment strategies. Much of the focus of these efforts in acute myeloid leukemia has been on CD33 as a target. On September 2, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved gemtuzumab ozogamicin for treatment of relapsed or refractory CD33+ acute myeloid leukemia. This signals a new chapter in the long and unusual story of gemtuzumab ozogamicin, which was the first antibody-drug conjugate approved for human use by the Food and Drug Administration. In this review we have analyzed the history of this drug which, among several mishaps, is experiencing a second youth and still represents a field to be further explored.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / pharmacokinetics
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Arsenicals / therapeutic use
  • Calicheamicins / metabolism
  • Chlorides / therapeutic use
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Cytarabine / administration & dosage
  • Daunorubicin / administration & dosage
  • Daunorubicin / adverse effects
  • Drug Approval
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Gemtuzumab / adverse effects
  • Gemtuzumab / pharmacokinetics
  • Gemtuzumab / therapeutic use*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / drug therapy*
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / immunology
  • Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / drug therapy
  • Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / genetics
  • Mice
  • Middle Aged
  • Multicenter Studies as Topic
  • Recurrence
  • Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3 / genetics
  • Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3 / metabolism
  • Tretinoin / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological
  • Arsenicals
  • CD33 protein, human
  • Calicheamicins
  • Chlorides
  • Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3
  • Cytarabine
  • Tretinoin
  • arsenic trichloride
  • Gemtuzumab
  • Daunorubicin