USE OF BLINATUMOMAB IN TREATING REFRACTORY/RELAPSING ACUTE LYMPHOID LEUKEMIA IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignant neoplasm in childhood. Currently, based on improvements in treatment over the last few decades, a high-performance standard therapy has been established, maintaining survival rates above 90%. However, there are still a number of patients who do not share this prognosis, as they experience recurrence or refractoriness to chemotherapy. For these patients, the clinical outlook is less favorable, with survival rates below 40%. Given this scenario, immunotherapy emerges as a more precise and specific treatment, with a reduced toxicity profile, as an alternative to standard therapy, and, consequently, greater efficacy and tolerability. In this context, the immunotherapeutic blinatumomab has been shown to provide higher survival rates, as well as complete remission and sustained negativity of minimal residual disease, while demonstrating a favorable safety profile, with fewer adverse events and less deleterious effects on immunity, offering patients a better quality of life. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature in order to conclude the efficacy of blinatumomab in the treatment of children with relapsed/refractory ALL, consolidating it as an essential tool in the management of the disease.