Summary
This phase Ib/II trial studies the side effects and how well blinatumomab works in treating patients with pre B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who undergo stem cell transplant. Blinatumomab is an antibody. Antibodies are made of proteins that the immune system uses to fight off foreign proteins such as the ones found in infectious organisms. Researchers have designed blinatumomab to engage body’s immune system to attack cells expressing CD19, a protein, which is commonly expressed on leukemia and lymphoma cells in patients with pre-B ALL or NHL. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as blinatumomab, may induce changes in the body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread.