NY-ESO-1 immunotherapy for multiple myeloma

Most patients with poor-prognosis myeloma (abnormal metaphase cytogenetics) achieve excellent responses with tandem transplants, but the remissions are not durable. Novel interventions such as immunotherapy may eradicate the residual chemotherapy-resistant disease. Immunotherapy targeting weak antigens such as myeloma idiotype or tumor lysate has failed to produce clinically meaningful responses. We previously reported that the NY-ESO-1 antigen is expressed in >60% of poor-prognosis myeloma at diagnosis. Since NY-ESO-1 is highly immunogenic and is not expressed in most normal tissues, it is an ideal target for anti-myeloma immunotherapy. NY-ESO-1 based therapies are already being tested in clinical trials for a multitude of tumors. This review discusses the potential of NY-ESO-1 immunotherapy to improve outcome for myeloma.