Pablo Velasco Puyó
Doctor in the Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Department at Vall d'Hebron Hospital and associate professor in the Paediatrics Department at the Autonomous University of Barcelona
It is a phase II study that has been accepted in the journal NEJM, which demonstrates the quality, as it is a journal with a very demanding peer review.
It has introduced immunotherapy in the first line of one of the most aggressive and poorly responsive leukaemias in paediatrics, and has achieved a 60% greater disease-free survival [30 percentage points] in two years with manageable toxicity. I think these data are good news, although they have to be validated in phase 3, which we hope will soon open in several countries, including Spain.
The main limitations are the number of patients and the non-randomisation of blinatumomab, both derived from the rarity of this disease, with probably 7-10 cases per year [in Spain]. As for the follow-up period, it is generally short considering that there may be late relapses, although this may not be so important in this leukaemia, as it tends to relapse early.