Disease Briefing

Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: research and therapeutic landscape

A live synthesis of what is being targeted, what is being trialled, which datasets exist, and where the actionable gaps sit — assembled from public APIs, with every figure traceable to its source.

Generated 2026-09-17Sources Open Targets · ClinicalTrials.gov · openFDA · GEO · PubMed · Europe PMC · iCite · RePORTERRanked 23 studies · 1,159 GEO samples
Reading as
Reorders emphasis only — nothing is hidden or loaded on demand.

Answer block

12 genes recurrently implicated in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia — MYD88, CXCR4, BTK, ARID1A, CD79B, TP53, BCL2, CD19, MS4A1, IRAK4, HCK, KMT2D — triaged for what can actually be aimed at them, alongside the trials, public datasets, literature and funding around the disease. Every figure below carries its source and retrieval date in the section it comes from.

1
drugs carry an FDA label naming Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: Ibrutinib. This counts labels, not treatment — the disease is also treated with agents approved under broader indications
1
of the 12 genes above carry a drug that is approved in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia itself — BTK. Across all of them 88 drug entries reach these genes, 81 distinct once salt forms are merged
6
registered CD19 cell-therapy trials in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia, 5 active. Counted from ClinicalTrials.gov across 3 synonyms, deduplicated by NCT id, interventional studies only — the query is published in the JSON beside this page so the number can be re-derived
8
targets carry an Open Targets tractability signal and have no clinical programme of any kind: MYD88, CXCR4, ARID1A, CD79B, TP53, IRAK4, HCK, KMT2D. CD19, MS4A1 have cell-therapy trials, so they are undrugged rather than untouched
39
human GEO series match the disease; 23 survive on-topic filtering, and only 1 are patient cohorts of 100+ samples
41
Europe PMC full-text papers name GSE6691 — the highest accession-mention count in the set. A mention is not proof of reanalysis, so read it as reach rather than reuse
$0.7M
NIH obligations in FY2025, across 1 distinct core project — and none in FY2013: no project matched the disease that year. There is no growth rate to give from a base of zero

Target landscape

Open Targets · retrieved 2026-09-17 · weekly

12 genes recurrently implicated in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia, triaged for whether anything can actually be aimed at them. The zeros are the informative rows.

Of 12 recurrently implicated genes, 9 carry any drug at all. That is a statement about these 12 gene targets, not about the disease: Waldenström macroglobulinaemia does have labelled therapy — 1 drugs, listed in the next section.

Two different questions

The table below asks what can be aimed at 12 recurrently implicated genes. That is narrower than what is approved for the disease, and narrower again than what Waldenström macroglobulinaemia is actually treated with, which includes agents approved under broader indications. All three are on this page and they are kept apart deliberately.

GeneDrugsApproval, and whether it reached this diseaseOpen Targets tractabilitycomputed from protein features and literature — a signal that a modality is worth trying, not evidence that it worksCell therapy here
MYD88 across cancers → 0 No drug antibody, protein degrader
CXCR4 8 3 approvedMavorixafor, Motixafortide, PlerixaforApproved in inborn error of immunity, plasma cell myeloma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 1 other indications. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs antibody, other clinical modality, protein degrader, small molecule
BTK across cancers → 20 8 approvedAcalabrutinib, Ibrutinib, Orelabrutinib, Pirtobrutinib, Rilzabrutinib, Ritlecitinib, Tirabrutinib, ZanubrutinibApproved in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: Ibrutinib.7 active of 12 Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trials antibody, protein degrader, small molecule
ARID1A across cancers → 0 No drug protein degrader
CD79B across cancers → 1 1 approvedPolatuzumab VedotinApproved in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs antibody, other clinical modality, protein degrader, small molecule
TP53 across cancers → 8 Phase 3Alrizomadlin, Cenersen, Contusugene Ladenovec, Eprenetapopt, Idasanutlin, Navtemadlin, Siremadlin, TeprasiranNo Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs other clinical modality, protein degrader, small molecule
BCL2 across cancers → 5 3 approvedNavitoclax, Oblimersen, VenetoclaxApproved in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.5 active of 5 Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trials antibody, other clinical modality, protein degrader, small molecule
CD19 across cancers → 14 9 approvedAxicabtagene Ciloleucel, Blinatumomab, Brexucabtagene Autoleucel, Inebilizumab, Lisocabtagene Maraleucel, Loncastuximab Tesirine, Obecabtagene Autoleucel, Tafasitamab, TisagenlecleucelApproved in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 6 other indications. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs antibody, other clinical modality, protein degrader 5 active of 6 trials
MS4A1 across cancers → 18 11 approvedEpcoritamab, Glofitamab, Mosunetuzumab, Obinutuzumab, Ocrelizumab, Odronextamab, Ofatumumab, Rituximab, Tositumomab, Ublituximab, Yttrium Y 90 Ibritumomab TiuxetanApproved in follicular lymphoma, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and 10 other indications. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.5 active of 23 Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trials antibody, other clinical modality, protein degrader, small molecule 1 active of 2 trials
IRAK4 1 Phase 2ZimlovisertibNo Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs antibody, protein degrader, small molecule
HCK 6 2 approvedBosutinib, DasatinibApproved in breast cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, blast phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive and 1 other indications. No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia indication appears on these drugs’ labels.No Waldenström macroglobulinaemia trial of any of these drugs antibody, protein degrader, small molecule
KMT2D across cancers → 0 No drug antibody, protein degrader, small molecule

Dataset evidence counts studies in the 23-study ranked set whose title or abstract names the gene; the bar is scaled to MYD88. Sources: Open Targets Platform and NCBI GEO, retrieved 2026-09-17. Clinical stage is the highest reached for any indication — see the per-drug indications noted in each row. Target-prioritisation reference only; not clinical or prescribing guidance.

What is actually approved here

openFDA drug labels · weekly

1 drug carries an FDA label naming Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: Ibrutinib. Separately, 36 of the drugs returned for the genes in the table above are approved only for other diseases and reach Waldenström macroglobulinaemia through trials, not through their labels.

1Labelled for Waldenström macroglobulinaemiaFDA INDICATIONS AND USAGE names the disease
36Approved, but for another diseasereturned for the genes in the table above
0Backbone agents listing itbroad cytotoxics whose labels name many tumours
5Active CD19 cell-therapy trialsof 6 registered

Every label that names Waldenström macroglobulinaemia

DrugRoleWhat the label says
IbrutinibImbruvicaLabelled hereAdult patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM)

2 labels match indications_and_usage:"macroglobulinemia"; they collapse to 1 distinct molecules once salt forms, biosimilars and co-formulated hyaluronidase are merged. Source: openFDA drug label API (api.fda.gov/drug/label.json), retrieved 2026-09-17. Labels change; this reflects the current label text, not the approval history. Not prescribing guidance.

Cell therapy against CD19

ClinicalTrials.gov · retrieved 2026-09-17 · weekly

CD19 is the busiest cell-therapy antigen in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: 6 registered trials, 5 still active.

TrialPhaseStatusTitleLast update
NCT052818092RecruitingLocal Manufacture of CAR T-Cell Products for the Treatment of B-Cell Lymphoma and B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia2025-01-13
NCT045457621RecruitingAnti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells for Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma2026-06-22
NCT063407371RecruitingAutologousCD22 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)T Cells in w/Recurrent/Refractory B Cell Lymphomas2026-08-12
NCT021535801ActiveCellular Immunotherapy Following Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Recurrent Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, or B-Cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia2025-10-06
NCT032777291/2ActiveA Phase I/II Study to Evaluate the Safety of Cellular Immunotherapy Using Autologous T Cells Engineered to Express a CD20-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor for Patients With Relapsed or Refractory B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas2026-06-22
NCT044883541CompletedLong-term Follow-up Study for Patients Treated With CLBR001 CAR-T2026-04-08

6 of 6 shown, most recently active first. Other antigens searched: CD20 (2), bendamustine (1). Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2, retrieved 2026-09-17. Trials are matched on the antigen named in the title or intervention, so a trial stating only a product code is missed.

Research momentum

PubMed MeSH · monthly

Every term below is a share of the Waldenström macroglobulinaemia literature, not a count, because the field itself grew: 2015–2018 (n=372) against 2021–2025 (n=428). A topic whose papers doubled while the field doubled has not risen.

Rising, with a real baseline

MeSH term2015–182021–25ChangeShare now
Lymphoma, B-Cell2.42%14.02%5.79×60 papers
Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase4.03%7.94%1.97×34 papers
Protein Kinase Inhibitors5.91%11.21%1.9×48 papers
Disease Management1.61%2.8%1.74×12 papers
Paraproteins2.42%3.04%1.26×13 papers
Bendamustine Hydrochloride3.76%4.67%1.24×20 papers
Myeloid Differentiation Factor 8818.55%21.03%1.13×90 papers
Paraproteinemias3.23%3.5%1.09×15 papers
Prognosis9.41%10.05%1.07×43 papers
Mutation18.01%19.16%1.06×82 papers

Cooling

MeSH term2015–182021–25ChangeShare now
Antineoplastic Agents10.22%5.14%0.5×22 papers
Pyrazoles14.78%7.94%0.54×34 papers
Signal Transduction5.91%3.27%0.55×14 papers
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols13.17%8.18%0.62×35 papers
Bone Marrow6.99%4.44%0.64×19 papers
Receptors, CXCR410.75%7.01%0.65×30 papers

Biggest topics now

MeSH term2015–182021–25ChangeShare now
Myeloid Differentiation Factor 8818.55%21.03%1.13×90 papers
Mutation18.01%19.16%1.06×82 papers
Rituximab15.32%16.12%1.05×69 papers
Immunoglobulin M20.43%16.12%0.79×69 papers
Lymphoma, B-Cell2.42%14.02%5.79×60 papers
Piperidines14.78%14.02%0.95×60 papers
Treatment Outcome14.25%12.15%0.85×52 papers
Pyrimidines15.05%11.45%0.76×49 papers
Protein Kinase Inhibitors5.91%11.21%1.9×48 papers
Adenine14.52%11.21%0.77×48 papers

Publication mix

Type2015–182021–25
Randomized Controlled Trial0.8%1.6%
Review18.5%16.1%
Meta-Analysis0.3%0.2%
Case Reports0.0%7.5%

Query: Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia[MeSH Major Topic] NOT ("Multiple Myeloma"[MeSH] OR "Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone"[MeSH] OR "Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell"[MeSH] OR "Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse"[MeSH] OR "Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell"[MeSH]). Terms need at least 12 papers in the recent window and, in the rising table, at least 5 in the earlier one — a term going from 1 paper to 12 is a large fold change and no evidence of anything. Ubiquitous descriptors (Humans, Animals, age bands) and the disease’s own term are dropped. Source: PubMed MeSH, retrieved 2026-09-17.

Disease burden

What the public sources count, and how closely each category matches this disease. The same figures for every disease on the site are on one table.

MeasureValueMatchWhat it counts
New cases each year79,320 cases/yearproxycounts non-hodgkin lymphoma, which is broader than this disease; 2026
Deaths each year19,970 deaths/yearproxycounts non-hodgkin lymphoma, which is broader than this disease; 2026
Incidence rate18.7 cases per 100,000 per yearproxycounts non-hodgkin lymphoma, which is broader than this disease; 2019-2023
Death rate4.8 deaths per 100,000 per yearproxycounts non-hodgkin lymphoma, which is broader than this disease; 2020-2024
People living with it872,940 people living with the diseaseproxycounts non-hodgkin lymphoma, which is broader than this disease; 2023
New cases each yearnot publishedThe American Cancer Society gives a range: "About 1,000 to 1,500 people are diagnosed with WM each year in the United States", and "an incidence rate of about 3 cases per million people per year". A point in the range would be a choice the source does not make. SEER publishes no Stat Facts page for the disease.
Deaths each yearnot publishedNot published on the page.
Five-year relative survivalnot publishedThe American Cancer Society publishes survival by IPSS-WM risk group as medians, not a five-year relative figure.
Median age at diagnosisnot publishedPublished as an average, not a median: "The average age of people when they are diagnosed with WM is 70."

Years of life lost: not computed. Years of life lost needs survival, age at diagnosis and a case count. five_year_relative_survival, median_age_at_diagnosis, incident cases is not recorded for this disease.

Funding

NIH RePORTER · quarterly

NIH obligations naming Waldenström macroglobulinaemia, after removing the 116 records across all years that matched the search but are about something else. That filter is not cosmetic: without it this section reports another field’s funding as this disease’s.

$0.7MNIH obligations, FY2025from $0.7M in FY2014 · -13%
1distinct projects funded1 in FY2014
$1.5Mpeak year was FY2023obligations, all institutes
100%of FY2025 awards from NCI2 of 2

NIH obligations by fiscal year

$0M$1M$1M$1M141620222425
YearObligationsAwardsDistinct projectsDropped as off-topic
FY2014$0.7M115
FY2015$0.2M115
FY2016$0.2M114
FY2019$0.4M1114
FY2020$0.4M1114
FY2021$1.2M2211
FY2022$1.2M2211
FY2023$1.5M4314
FY2024$0.6M218
FY2025$0.7M2110

Where FY2025 money went

InstitutionObligationsAwards
Baylor College Of Medicine$0.7M2

Text search Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia OR lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma over project title, terms and abstract, per fiscal year. Awards are individual funding actions; distinct projects collapse them by core project number, so a multi-year grant counts once. The most recent year may be incomplete. Source: NIH RePORTER, retrieved 2026-09-17.

Who funds it, FY2025

The total says how much. These say who from, through what kind of award, and to whom — which a dollar figure cannot.

NIH institutes

NCI2 · 100%

Projects by administering institute. The rows above are the top 1 and account for 2 of 2.

Award mechanisms

U542 · 100%

R01 is an investigator-initiated grant; ZIA is NIH intramural, meaning the work happens inside NIH rather than being funded outside it. The rows above are the top 1 and account for 2 of 2.

Where it lands

Baylor College Of Medicine$0.7M · 100.0%

Share of $0.7M in FY2025. The top three hold 100%.

Public datasets, ranked

NCBI GEO + Europe PMC + iCite · weekly

39 human GEO series match Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. Keyword relevance cannot tell a 356-sample patient cohort from a six-well cell-line experiment, so this ranking scores four things GEO does not expose: how often the accession is named in full-text papers, field-normalised citation impact, clinical annotation, and cohort type.

Composition of the 23-study ranked set

unspecified 11patient 7cell line 3mixed 2
11 unspecified7 patient3 cell line2 mixed17 carry clinical annotation3 carry survival1 patient cohorts ≥100 GEO samples1,159 GEO samples totalin 1 single-cell series a GEO sample is one cell, not one patient

Established

high reuse, older
AccessionStudySamplesMentionsEurope PMCRCREvidence
GSE6691Gene expression profiling of B lymphocytes and plasma cells from WaldenstrÖm’s macroglobulinemia.2007 · array56413.1
APT 0.5survival160 cites
GSE12668Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia patients: expression and aCGH data2009 · array6442.5
patient cohortAPT 0.75124 cites
GSE183030A novel diagnostic approach for the classification of small B-cell lymphoid neoplasms based on the NanoString platform2021 · array35610.5
patient cohortAPT 0.5molecularBCL2MYD888 cites
GSE35278Genomic analysis of marginal zone and lymphoplasmacytic lymphomas identified common and disease-specific abnormalities2012 · array11421.3
APT 0.75molecularTP5352 cites
GSE171739A gene set signature for the risk of progression in IgM MGUS to Waldenström Macroglobulinemia by microarray of B cells and plasma cells2021 · array10530.8
APT 0.25stagemolecularCD1912 cites
GSE185158Pre-neoplastic somatic mutations including MYD88L265P in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma2021 · sequencing3012.2
APT 0.75molecular34 cites
GSE83150CXCL12 Stimulation of CXCR4-WHIM Transduced Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia cell line BCWM.12016 · array2412.6
cell lineAPT 0.75molecularCXCR483 cites
GSE179221Aberrant extrafollicular B cells, immune dysfunction and myeloid inflammation precede malignancy in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia2021 · sequencing1811.3
APT 0.5molecularMYD8827 cites

Recent

2022 onward, by score
AccessionStudySamplesMentionsEurope PMCRCREvidence
GSE296167A multiomic analysis of Waldenström macroglobulinemia defines distinct disease subtypes2025 · chromatin2602.6
APT 0.5stagemolecularARID1ACXCR4MYD889 cites
GSE243545First-in-human clinical trial of personalized neoantigen vaccines as early intervention in untreated patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma2023 · sequencing4921.8
patient cohortAPT 0.517 cites
GSE232994Molecular Clusters and Tumor-Immune Drivers of IgM Monoclonal Gammopathies2023 · sequencing2801.4
patient cohortAPT 0.5molecularCD1913 cites
GSE232995Non-coding RNA analysis in IgM monoclonal gammopathies: an underrecognized role of microRNA and long non-coding RNA differentiating Waldenström macroglobulinemia from IgM-MGUS2023 · sequencing2820.3
patient cohortAPT 0.052 cites
GSE235723Single cell analysis of MYD88 L265P and MYD88 WT Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) patients2024 · sequencing92
patient cohortmolecularCD19MYD88
GSE207488Therapeutic Activation of G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor 1 in Waldenström Macroglobulinemia2024 · array40
mixedmolecularTP53

Sources: NCBI GEO + Europe PMC + iCite, retrieved 2026-09-17. SubSeries are collapsed to one row per study by linked PMID. Of 39 series retrieved, 5 were dropped by the profile’s exclusion rules and 8 named the disease only in passing. The ranked set is a relevance-ranked sample, not a census, so the composition figures describe the sample only.

Where the gaps are

Derived from the sections above · recomputed on every refresh

Each card below is a disagreement between two of the tables on this page — a drug that exists but was never tried here, a target that looks tested and was not, a gene with no drug whose product has a busy clinical programme. They are computed from the same facts as the tables, so they cannot contradict them.

MYD88

No drug, no trial, no clinical programme of any kind. Whatever the biology says, nothing has been built.

CXCR4

3 approved drugs (Mavorixafor, Motixafortide, Plerixafor) and no registered trial in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. The molecules exist; nobody has tested them here.

ARID1A

No drug, no trial, no clinical programme of any kind. Whatever the biology says, nothing has been built.

CD79B

1 approved drug (Polatuzumab Vedotin) and no registered trial in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. The molecules exist; nobody has tested them here.

HCK

2 approved drugs (Bosutinib, Dasatinib) and no registered trial in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. The molecules exist; nobody has tested them here.

KMT2D

No drug, no trial, no clinical programme of any kind. Whatever the biology says, nothing has been built.

How a machine reads this page

Static

This page is written to be quoted correctly by a model as much as read by a person. The same facts are available as JSON at the sibling URL below, which is what to cite. The cross-disease layer — burden, genes, drugs and antigens across every briefing — is described at /disease/api.json.

Fully server-rendered

Every figure is in the HTML at first byte. No JavaScript runs, no figure is fetched after load, and nothing on this page requires a renderer to see.

Every number carries a source

Each section names the API it came from and the date it was retrieved: Open Targets (2026-09-17), ClinicalTrials.gov (2026-09-17), openFDA (2026-09-17), NCBI GEO (2026-09-17), PubMed (2026-09-17), NIH RePORTER (2026-09-17).

Negatives stated explicitly

Where nothing exists for Waldenström macroglobulinaemia — no drug, no trial, no approval — the page says so in those words rather than omitting the row. An absent row is unquotable; a stated negative is the finding.

Denominators, not just percentages

Every share is printed with the count and the total it came from, so a figure can be checked rather than taken.

The filters are published

5 exclusion patterns are applied to free text before anything is ranked, because none: no line is in regular use is used as a model system in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. What was removed and why is stated in each section rather than silently applied.

{
  "disease": "Waldenstr\u00f6m macroglobulinaemia",
  "mesh": "Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia",
  "facts": "https://usebiotransfer.org/disease/waldenstrom-macroglobulinemia.json",
  "methods": "https://usebiotransfer.org/methods/",
  "all_diseases": "https://usebiotransfer.org/disease/api.json",
  "note": "Every figure on the page is in that JSON with its source and retrieval date. Quote from it rather than from the HTML."
}