Low mortality from COVID‐19 infection in patients with B‐cell lymphoma after bispecific CD20xCD3 therapy.

A study published in the British Journal of Haematology examined the impact of COVID-19 on patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) who received bispecific antibodies. The study included 130 Danish patients who were treated with glofitamab or epcoritamab. Of the 43 patients who were infected with COVID-19, the majority were in complete remission at the time of diagnosis. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms varied, with 2 patients experiencing critical symptoms, 2 experiencing severe symptoms, and 30 experiencing non-severe symptoms. Hospitalization was required for 16 patients, and the most common treatments prescribed were sotrovimab and remdesivir. Overall, the study found low mortality rates from COVID-19 infection in patients with B-NHL after bispecific CD20xCD3 therapy. The study also compared the mortality rates of patients who received bispecific antibodies to those treated with CAR-T-cell therapy, finding that bispecific antibody patients had a lower mortality rate. The study concludes that bispecific CD20xCD3 antibodies can be safely prescribed to lymphoma patients who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 with currently circulating virus variants. [Extracted from the article]