A phase 2 GRAALL-2014/B-QUEST substudy showed integrating blinatumomab into consolidation and maintenance therapy improved minimal residual disease clearance, reduced relapse rate, and prolonged survival for patients with newly diagnosed, high-risk B-cell acute lymphoma blastic leukemia, according to data published in Blood.
The authors, led by Nicolas Boissel, MD, PhD, of Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris, France, analyzed 94 patients with high-risk B-ALL who received up to five cycles of blinatumomab during consolidation and maintenance therapy. A post hoc analysis compared outcomes in these patients with outcomes in 90 control patients treated without blinatumomab before QUEST activation.
At five years, between the blinatumomab and control groups, the relapse rates were 23% versus 49% (P=.001), the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 68% versus 42% (P=.001), and the overall survival rates were 79% versus 60% (P=.03), respectively.
Patients eligible for allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) showed an overall benefit. However, there was no clear DFS advantage seen in patients who ultimately completed HSCT, Boissel and colleagues wrote.
“These findings support the frontline integration of blinatumomab and warrant prospective evaluation of transplantation strategies in this setting,” the report concluded.
Reference
Boissel N, Huguet F, Thibaut L, et al. Blinatumomab consolidation for high-risk Ph− B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the GRAALL-2014/B-QUEST study. Blood 2026;148(3):289-299. doi:10.1182/blood.2026033309
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