Dinutuximab

Dinutuximab is an IgG1 monoclonal human/mouse chimeric antibody against GD2, a disialoganglioside expressed on tumors of neuroectodermal origin, including human neuroblastoma and melanoma, with highly restricted expression on normal tissues. It is composed of the variable heavy- and light-chain regions of the murine anti-GD2 mAb 14.18 and the constant regions of human IgG1 heavy-chain and kappa light-chain. By binding to GD2, dinutiximab induces antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity of tumor cells thereby leading to apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation of the tumour. It is indicated, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy. Despite a high clinical response seen after first-line treatment, the complete eradication of neuroblastoma is rarely achieved and the majority of patients with advanced disease suffer a relapse. Current strategies for treatment include immunotherapy with drugs such as dinutuximab to target surviving neuroblastoma cells and to prevent relapse.