We report the case of a 63-year-old Caucasian woman with multiple relapsed IgM multiple myeloma (MM) and elevated free kappa light chains (fκLC). Due to hyperviscosity syndrome with visual impairment, regular plasma exchanges were performed. As part of her 11th line of therapy, an experimental protocol consisting of pembrolizumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone was initiated. To reduce fκLC and immunoglobulin (Ig) M, we performed immunoadsorption (IA) using columns containing recombinant single domain camelid antibody fragments as ligands. We measured pembrolizumab (humanized IgG4 kappa anti-PD1 antibody) levels before and after each IA session and found a 98.1% reduction from baseline with five sessions of IA. Comparable elimination kinetics were observed for serum IgG, whereas fκLC and IgM were eliminated to a substantially lesser extent. These findings highlight that in hyperviscosity syndrome due to IgM MM, broad spectrum IA columns might be only moderately effective compared to total plasma exchange or double filtration plasmapheresis. Monoclonal antibodies are efficiently reduced by extracorporeal therapies and re-dosing is necessary to provide sufficient efficacy. In the case of serious adverse events such as immune-related adverse events, IA might be used to eliminate the monoclonal antibody. Measuring IgG levels might be a reasonable strategy for monitoring drug levels of monoclonal antibodies during IA.
Keywords: drug levels; immunoglobulin; monoclonal antibody; pembrolizumab; therapeutic apheresis.
© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Apheresis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.