Introduction
Elotuzumab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody medication. It is sold under the brand name Empliciti. It is used in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, for adults that have received 1 to 3 prior therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma. It is also indicated for adult patients together with pomalidomide and dexamethasone, who have received 2 prior therapies including lenalidomide and a PI. Administration of elotuzumab is done intravenously. Each injection of elotuzumab should be premedicated with dexamethasone, diphenhydramine, ranitidine and acetaminophen. It is being developed by Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie. When myeloma (a sort of cancer of the bone marrow) does not improve with treatment or that had improved after treatment with other medications but later returned, in that case, elotuzumab injection is employed alongside lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone or alongside pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone to treat it. It helps the body to slow or stop the expansion of cancer cells.
Elotuzumab is an immunostimulatory antibody that targets signalling lymphocyte activation molecule family member 7, also known as SLAMF7. SLAMF7 may be a cell surface glycoprotein that’s present on myeloma cells, natural killer cells, plasma cells, and subsets of immune cells of the hematopoietic lineage. Elotuzumab activates natural killer cells through the SLAMF7 pathway. Along with that, the SLAMF7 of the myeloma cells are targeted and flagged, for natural killer cell-mediated destruction through antibody-dependent cellular toxicity.
Elotuzumab comes as a powder to be mixed with sterile water and given intravenously (into a vein) by a doctor or nurse during a healthcare setting. It is utilized in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone and given once hebdomadally for the primary 2 cycles (each cycle maybe a 28 day treatment period) and then once every 2 weeks. When utilized in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone it’s usually given once every week for the primary 2 cycles (each cycle maybe a 28 day treatment period) and then once every 4 weeks.
Side effects:
- Diarrhoea
- Constipation
- Headache
- Vomiting
- Mood changes
- Weight loss
- Night sweats
- Numbness or decreased sense of touch
- Bone pain
- Muscle spasms
- Swelling of your arms or legs
Some side effects of elotuzumab can be serious. If you experience any of those symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
- Chills, sore throat, fever, or cough; shortness of breath; pain or burning upon urination; painful rash; or other signs of infection
- Numbness, weakness, tingling, or burning pain in your arms or legs
- Chest pain
- Nausea, extreme tiredness and lack of energy, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, confusion, pain within the upper right part of the stomach
- Vision change
