Combination Therapy of an Antibody Specific for Transferrin Receptor 1 (ch128.1/IgG1) With Bortezomib or Lenalidomide Results in Increased Survival in an In Vivo Model of Human Multiple Myeloma: A Brief Communication

Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) is a universal cancer marker and a meaningful target for antibody-based immunotherapy. We previously developed a mouse/human chimeric antibody (ch128.1/ IgG1) specific for the human TfR1 and reported that treatment of SCID-Beige mice bearing disseminated human multiple myeloma (MM) cells with ch128.1/IgG1 results in significant antitumor activity in early-stage and late-stage disease. Both bortezomib and lenalidomide are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved therapeutics used to treat MM in combination with other agents. Since combining treatments with different mechanisms of action is an effective antitumor strategy and given the relevance of bortezomib and lenalidomide in MM therapy, we decided to explore, for the first time, the combination of bortezomib or lenalidomide treatment with ch128.1/IgG1 within the context of late-stage MM disease. We found that treatment with a single dose of ch128.1/IgG1, or multiple doses of bortezomib or lenalidomide, used as single agents, results in significant antitumor activity in SCID-Beige mice bearing late-stage disseminated human MM.1S tumors. However, this antitumor activity is superior when ch128.1/IgG1 is combined with either bortezomib or lenalidomide, showing significantly longer survival compared with any therapy used alone. These novel results suggest that the combinations of ch128.1/IgG1 and bortezomib or lenalidomide are promising strategies against MM.