[Antibody therapy for multiple myeloma]

Over the past two decades, there have been many advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), and the median survival continues to increase. The driving force behind this progress has been the development of novel therapeutic agents, such as proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulators. Antibody drugs have a different mechanism of action in comparison with these drugs and can be combined with existing drugs to enhance the therapeutic efficacy. To date, elotuzumab, an anti-SLAMF7 antibody; daratumumab, an anti-CD38 antibody; and isatuximab have been introduced. D-MPB and DLd have become the standard first-line treatment for untreated, newly diagnosed MM; whereas DBd, DLd, DCd, Isa-Pd, ELd, and EPd have become the standard of care for relapsed and refractory MM. New antibody drugs, such as bi-specific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, targeting various antigens, including BCMA, are now under development. In this educational lecture, I will review the status on development and clinical trials of these antibody drugs.