Current immune checkpoint inhibitor trials in AML/MDS

Amer Zeidan, MBBS, MHS, Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, discusses several current trials of immune checkpoint inhibition in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) that were presented at ASH 2020. For example, he shares the design of the STIMULUS program: a program of three trials (NCT03946670; NCT0426630; NCT04150029) evaluating sabatolimab-based combination therapy in AML or high-risk MDS. Sabatolimab targets TIM-3, an inhibitory receptor expressed on immune cells and leukemic stem cells and blasts, but not hematopoietic stem cells. Magrolimab, an anti-CD47 antibody, is another promising agent currently under investigation in Phase III trials in combination with azacitadine. Additionally, Blast MRD AML-1 and -2 (NCT04214249; NCT04284787) are investigating pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, in combination with standard intensive chemotherapy or venetoclax-azacitidine, respectively. This interview took place during the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2020.