Monoclonal Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies are synthetic or lab-made versions of antibodies that live in your immune system. Generally, monoclonal antibodies work by attaching to proteins on the surface of cancer cells to help the immune system identify and destroy the cancer. The antibodies are administered as an injection or by IV and can be given along with targeted therapy or chemo.
Monoclonal antibodies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia that focus on a protein called CD20 include obinutuzumab (Gazyva), ofatumumab (Arzerra), and rituximab (Rituxan).
These immunotherapy drugs can cause mild side effects, such as:
- Chills
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Headache
- Injection-site reactions
- Nausea
Sometimes, they can trigger more serious symptoms, such as:
- A racing heart
- Chest pain
- Coughing
- Dizziness
- Infection
- Swelling of the face and tongue
- Trouble breathing
CAR T-Cell Therapy
With chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, your immune cells, called T cells, are removed from your blood. The T cells are then altered in a lab by adding special receptors on their surface. Then the newly engineered T cells are reinfused into the body. Once in the blood, these new T cells multiply and seek out and destroy cancer cells.
Lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) is currently the only CAR T-cell therapy available for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It’s used to treat adults who have cancer that is still growing or has come back.
CAR T-cell therapy can cause serious side effects, such as:
- Cytokine release syndrome, which is a potentially life-threatening condition that happens when the immune system overreacts and causes symptoms such as breathing problems, chills, diarrhea, fever, headache, nausea, and weakness
- Low blood cell counts
- Serious neurological issues, such as changes in consciousness, confusion, seizures, tremors, and trouble speaking
- Severe infections
- A weakened immune system
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