Multiple Myeloma, Targeting B-Cell Maturation Antigen With Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cells

Multiple myeloma is still an incurable malignancy despite the many new therapies approved over the last decade and therefore represents a significant unmet medical need. To address this need, adoptive cellular therapies using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells are being explored in clinical investigations. The number of CAR T-cell trials for multiple myeloma has increased exponentially over the past few years. Although the data are preliminary at this time, the results have garnered much enthusiasm in the field. Immune therapies targeting B-cell maturation antigen have been the most widely developed, and much of these early data were presented at the recent American Society of Hematology 2018 meeting. Here we review the available data for anti-B-cell maturation antigen CAR T-cell therapies and discuss next steps as the field progresses forward.