Dr. DeAngelo on the Utility of Moxetumomab Pasudotox in HCL

Daniel J. DeAngelo, MD, PhD, institute physician, chief, Division of Leukemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the utility of moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk (Lumoxiti) in hairy cell leukemia (HCL).

In September 2018, the FDA approved moxetumomab pasudotox, a CD22-directed cytotoxin, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory HCL who received at least 2 prior systemic therapies, including a purine nucleoside analog. Since the regulatory decision, moxetumomab pasudotox has been a utilized as a salvage therapy for patients with HCL. Moreover, the agent has demonstrated significant benefit for patients who have multiple relapses or short remissions, or do not respond to cladribine or pentostatin. In addition, this therapy can be administered in the outpatient setting, which has been beneficial during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, DeAngelo explains.

As such, in clinical practice, moxetumomab pasudotox is typically reserved for patients who are refractory to nucleoside analogs, defined as having a remission duration of less than 12 months, as well as those who have relapsed disease and are not candidates for aggressive nucleoside analog therapy, DeAngelo concludes.