Authors: Stephan J Matissek, Weiguo Han, Mona Karbalivand, Mohamed Sayed, Brendan M Reilly, Shayna Mallat, Shimaa M Ghazal, Manit Munshi, Guang Yang, Steven P Treon, Sarah R Walker, Sherine F Elsawa
Summary: Aim: Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a low-grade B cell lymphoma characterized by overproduction of monoclonal IgM. To date, there are no therapies that provide a cure for WM patients, and therefore, it is important to explore new therapies. Little is known about the efficiency of epigenetic targeting in WM.
Materials & methods: WM cells were treated with BET inhibitors (JQ-1 and I-BET-762) and venetoclax, panobinostat or ibrutinib.
Results: BET inhibition reduces growth of WM cells, with little effect on survival. This finding was enhanced by combination therapy, with panobinostat (LBH589) showing the highest synergy.
Conclusion: Our studies identify BET inhibitors as effective therapy for WM, and these inhibitors can be enhanced in combination with BCL2 or histone deacetylase inhibition.
Source: Epigenomics, 2020