Early Use of Dinutuximab Beta in Patients with High-Risk Neuroblastoma

GD2-targeting therapy: a comparative analysis of approaches and promising directions

Disialoganglioside GD2 is a promising target for immunotherapy with expression primarily restricted to neuroectodermal and epithelial tumor cells. Although its role in the maintenance and repair of neural tissue is well-established, its functions during normal organism development remain understudied. Meanwhile, studies have shown that GD2 plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Its functions include proliferation, invasion, motility, and metastasis, and its high expression and ability to transform the tumor microenvironment may be associated with a malignant phenotype. Structurally, GD2 is a glycosphingolipid that is stably expressed on the surface of tumor cells, making it a suitable candidate for targeting by antibodies or chimeric antigen receptors. Based on mouse monoclonal antibodies, chimeric and humanized antibodies and their combinations with cytokines, toxins, drugs, radionuclides, nanoparticles as well as chimeric antigen receptor have been developed. Furthermore, vaccines and photoimmunotherapy are being used to treat GD2-positive tumors, and GD2 aptamers can be used for targeting. In the field of cell therapy, allogeneic immunocompetent cells are also being utilized to enhance GD2 therapy. Efforts are currently being made to optimize the chimeric antigen receptor by modifying its design or by transducing not only αβ T cells, but also γδ T cells, NK cells, NKT cells, and macrophages. In addition, immunotherapy can combine both diagnostic and therapeutic methods, allowing for early detection of disease and minimal residual disease. This review discusses each immunotherapy method and strategy, its advantages and disadvantages, and highlights future directions for GD2 therapy.

Toxicity Spectrum of Anti-GD2 Immunotherapy: A Real-World Study Leveraging the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System

BACKGROUND

Anti-disialoganglioside (anti-GD2) monoclonal antibodies are effective immunotherapeutic drugs for treating neuroblastoma, yet their toxicity spectrum is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the toxicity profiles of three anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies (dinutuximab, dinutuximab β, and naxitamab) in clinical applications by mining and evaluating the adverse drug reaction (ADR) signals from the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System.

METHODS

Data in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System from the time anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies became available in the market to the first quarter of 2023 were searched. The signals of anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody-associated ADRs were quantified using four types of algorithms, including the reporting odds ratio, the proportional reporting ratio, the combination of the proportional reporting ratio and χ2 statistic method used by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and the Bayesian confidence propagation neural network. The ADRs were categorized by System Organ Class based on the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities, and were sorted according to the frequency and signal strength of ADRs.

RESULTS

A total of 370 adverse drug event reports with anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies listed as the 'primary suspected drugs' were identified, with 116 ADR signals detected, of which 22 were not in the drug labels. Among the adverse drug event reports, 276 reports concerned dinutuximab/dinutuximab β as primary suspected drugs with 90 ADR signals, involving 19 System Organ Classes, of which 21 signals were not in the label; 94 adverse drug event reports concerned naxitamab as the primary suspected drug with 26 ADR signals, involving 11 System Organ Classes, of which one was not in the label. For dinutuximab/dinutuximab β-related ADRs, the top five most frequent were "fever", "abdominal pain", "elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST)", "elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT)" and "hypotension"; the top five most intensive signals were "hypoalbuminemia", "elevated AST", "capillary leakage syndrome", "hypoxia" and "elevated ALT". For naxitamab-related ADRs, the top five most frequent were "hypotension", "pain", "urticarial", "hypertension" and "rash"; the top five most intensive signals were "hypotension", "urticaria", "hypoxemia", "bronchospasm" and "hypertension". Involved System Organ Classes included "investigations" and "respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders" containing the most types of ADR signals in dinutuximab/dintuximab β-related ADRs and naxitamab-related ADRs, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study comprehensively analyzed the toxicity profiles of anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies and provides an important reference for clinical monitoring and ADR identification of these drugs.

Safety and efficacy of dinutuximab in the treatment of neuroblastoma: A review

Dinutuximab, which is a monoclonal antibody targeting GD2 expressed in neuroblasts, improves survival when included in the therapy regimen. This article reviews the importance of dinutuximab in managing neuroblastoma (NB). Dinutuximab targets high levels of GD2 expression in NB cells, thus increasing event-free survival when used in the maintenance therapy of high-risk patients with NB. Although several collaborative studies have set the standard of care for maintenance therapy, the long-term follow-up and continuous evaluation of the use of antibodies and the co-administration of other pharmacological or immunomodulatory drugs remain to be studied. Trials have shown that the use of dinutuximab for maintenance therapy can prolong the time before the first relapse and improve overall survival. However, there is uncertainty in the function of cytokines co-administered with dinutuximab, which may lead to increased toxicity without additional benefits. Recent studies on relapsed and refractory NB have shown the potential efficacy of dinutuximab. Further research is required to properly incorporate Dinutuximab in current treatment modalities.

Dinutuximab beta plus conventional chemotherapy for relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma: A single-center experience

Background

Relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma has a dismal prognosis. Anti-GD2-mediated chemo-immunotherapy has a notable anti-tumor activity in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of the combination of immunotherapy with dinutuximab beta (DB) and chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma.

Methods

All patients received the Turkish Pediatric Oncology Group NB 2009 national protocol for HR-NB treatment at the time of diagnosis. Salvage treatments were administered after progression or relapse. The patients who could not achieve remission in primary or metastatic sites were included in the study. The most common chemotherapy scheme was irinotecan and temozolomide. DB was administered intravenously for 10 days through continuous infusion with 10 mg/m² per day. The patients received 2 to 14 successive cycles with duration of 28 days each. Disease assessment was performed after cycles 2, 4, and 6 and every 2 to 3 cycles thereafter.

Results

Between January 2020 and March 2022, nineteen patients received a total of 125 cycles of DB and chemotherapy. Objective responses were achieved in 12/19 (63%) patients, including complete remission in 6/19 and partial response in 6/19. Stable disease was observed in two patients. The remaining five patients developed bone/bone marrow and soft tissue progression after 2-4 cycles of treatment. The most common Grade ≥3 toxicities were leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypertransaminasemia, fever, rash/itching and capillary leak syndrome, respectively.

Conclusion

Our study results suggest that DB-based chemo-immunotherapy seems to be suitable with encouraging response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma.