Phase I clinical trial of serotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia with an immunoglobulin M monoclonal antibody to CD15.

Sixteen patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were treated with a continuous i.v. infusion of mAb PM-81, an IgM mAb directed against the cellular differentiation antigen CD15, which is expressed on leukemia cells of >95% of patients with AML.

A combination of anti-CD15 monoclonal antibody PM-81 and 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide augments tumor cytotoxicity while sparing normal progenitor cells.

A cyclophosphamide congener, 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4HC), has been used to purge bone marrow (BM) of residual leukemia cells ex vivo for use in support of high-dose chemotherapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) undergoing autologous BM transplantation (ABMT). The efficacy and toxicity of 4HC are dose-related. The maximally tolerated concentration, 60-100 micrograms/ml, is toxic to tumor cells but also to normal committed hematopoietic progenitor cells.