Current and emerging treatment options in primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

Previously considered a subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is now recognized by the World Health Organization as an independent entity. PMBCL has clinicopathologic features that are separate from systemic DLBCL and harbors some biologic characteristics which overlap with nodular sclerosing classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cHL). Similar to cHL, copy number alterations of 9p24.1 are frequently seen in PMBCL, which leads to increased expression of key genes in the region, including programmed death-ligand 1( PD-L1), PD-L2, and JAK2. In addition, PMBCL cells express CD30 in a mostly patchy fashion. In the upfront setting, dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab (i.e., DA-EPOCH-R) is the only regimen that has been shown in a prospective setting to result in outstanding outcomes without consolidative radiation to the mediastinum, with a 5-year event-free survival rate of 93% and overall survival rate of 97%. Thus, in recent years, DA-EPOCH-R has been recognized as the preferred frontline regimen. Despite the encouraging results in the frontline setting, the outcomes in the relapsed/refractory setting remain poor. The current approach of salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation, as used in patients with DLBCL, does not result in high rates of cure in patients with rrPMBCL. In recent years, the characteristic molecular features identified in PMBCL have provided more treatment opportunities for this patient population. In the relapsed setting, single-agent PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab have demonstrated high and durable remission rates. Despite the expression of CD30, the CD30 antibody drug-conjugate brentuximab vedotin (BV) as a single agent has been deemed inactive in this disease. On the contrary, the combinations of BV and PD-1 inhibitor have shown higher response rates than PD-1 inhibitor alone. Moreover, anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy has been positioned as another successful strategy for patients with rrPMBCL. Axicabtagene ciloleucel and lisocabtagene maraleucel are two products used in rrPMBCL.

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Long-Term Follow-Up of Anti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.20.01467 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (32) ◽

pp. 3805-3815

Author(s):

Kathryn M. Cappell ◽

Richard M. Sherry ◽

James C. Yang ◽

Stephanie L. Goff ◽

Danielle A. Vanasse ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

Cell Therapy ◽

B Cell ◽

Cell Lymphoma ◽

B Cell Lymphoma ◽

T Cell Therapy ◽

Car T Cell ◽

Car T

PURPOSE Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are artificial fusion proteins that cause CD19-specific T-cell activation. Durability of remissions and incidence of long-term adverse events are critical factors determining the utility of anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, but long-term follow-up of patients treated with anti-CD19 CAR T cells is limited. This work provides the longest follow-up of patients in remission after anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. METHODS Between 2009 and 2015, we administered 46 CAR T-cell treatments to 43 patients (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00924326 ). Patients had relapsed B-cell malignancies of the following types: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL/PMBCL; n = 28), low-grade B-cell lymphoma (n = 8), or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; n = 7). This report focuses on long-term outcomes of these patients. The CAR used was FMC63-28Z; axicabtagene ciloleucel uses the same CAR. Cyclophosphamide plus fludarabine conditioning chemotherapy was administered before CAR T cells. RESULTS The percentages of CAR T-cell treatments resulting in a > 3-year duration of response (DOR) were 51% (95% CI, 35% to 67%) for all evaluable treatments, 48% (95% CI, 28% to 69%) for DLBCL/PMBCL, 63% (95% CI, 25% to 92%) for low-grade lymphoma, and 50% (95% CI, 16% to 84%) for CLL. The median event-free survival of all 45 evaluable treatments was 55 months. Long-term adverse effects were rare, except for B-cell depletion and hypogammaglobulinemia. Median peak blood CAR-positive cell levels were higher among patients with a DOR of > 3 years (98/µL; range, 9-1,217/µL) than among patients with a DOR of < 3 years (18/µL; range, 0-308/μL, P = .0051). CONCLUSION Complete remissions of a variety of B-cell malignancies lasting ≥ 3 years occurred after 51% of evaluable anti-CD19 CAR T-cell treatments. Remissions of up to 9 years are ongoing. Late adverse events were rare.

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Influence of TP53 Mutation on Survival of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in the CAR T-Cell Era

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13225592 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 5592

Author(s):

Edit Porpaczy ◽

Philipp Wohlfarth ◽

Oliver Königsbrügge ◽

Werner Rabitsch ◽

Cathrin Skrabs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

Cell Therapy ◽

B Cell ◽

Tp53 Mutation ◽

Cell Lymphoma ◽

B Cell Lymphoma ◽

T Cell Therapy ◽

Car T Cell ◽

Car T Cell Therapy ◽

Car T

Refractory/relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is associated with poor outcome. The clinical behavior and genetic landscape of DLBCL is heterogeneous and still not fully understood. TP53 mutations in DLBCL have been identified as markers of poor prognosis and are often associated with therapeutic resistance. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is an innovative therapeutic concept and represents a game-changing therapeutic option by supporting the patient’s own immune system to kill the tumor cells. We investigated the impact of TP53 mutations on the overall survival of refractory/relapsed DLBCL patients treated with comparable numbers of therapy lines. The minimum number of therapy lines was 2 (median 4), including either anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy or conventional salvage therapy. A total of 170 patients with DLBCL and high-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC, BCL2, and/or BCL6 rearrangements (DHL/THL), diagnosed and treated in our hospital between 2000 and 2021, were included. Twenty-nine of them received CAR T-cell therapy. TP53 mutations were found in 10/29 (35%) and 31/141 (22%) of patients in the CAR T-cell and conventional groups, respectively. Among the 141 patients not treated with CAR T cells, TP53 mutation was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) (median 12 months with TP53 vs. not reached without TP53 mutation, p < 0.005), but in the CAR T cell treated group, this significance could not be shown (median OS 30 vs. 120 months, p = 0.263). The findings from this monocentric retrospective study indicate that TP53 mutation status does not seem to affect outcomes in DLBCL patients treated with CAR T-cell therapy. Detailed evaluation in large cohorts is warranted.

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Systematic Literature Review of the Clinical Evidence in Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2019-127664 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 5821-5821

Author(s):

David G. Maloney ◽

Fei Fei Liu ◽

Lisette Nientker ◽

Cathelijne Alleman ◽

Brian Hutton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

B Cell ◽

Cell Lymphoma ◽

B Cell Lymphoma ◽

T Cell Therapy ◽

Car T Cell ◽

Large B Cell Lymphoma ◽

Car T ◽

Large B Cell

Introduction: Large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Frontline treatment is curative in ~60% of patients (pts); however, ~30% of pts relapse and ~10% are refractory to frontline treatment. Treatment options for pts with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease, especially in the third-line or greater (3L+) setting, have been primarily salvage chemotherapies (CTs). Recently, 2 CAR T cell products, axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®) and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah®), and the antibody-drug conjugate, polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy®), were approved in the 3L setting. A systematic literature review (SLR) of R/R LBCL was conducted to identify relevant evidence on clinical outcomes in LBCL pts, including these new therapies, within the second-line and greater (2L+) or 3L+ setting, and to define the unmet medical need. Methods: This SLR was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and European Union Health Technology Assessment requirements. The review identified randomized and nonrandomized/observational studies within R/R LBCL, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma grade 3B (FL3B), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), DLBCL transformed from indolent lymphomas, and R/R DLBCL with secondary central nervous system (SCNS) involvement. Sources were EMBASE, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, and clinical conferences (ASCO, ESMO, EHA, ASH, ICML, AACR, and EORTC) from Jan 2000 to Apr 2019. Results : Following screening of 8683 database records and additional sources, 103 publications covering 78 unique studies were identified. Studies identified were characterized by line of treatment and R/R LBCL subtype (Figure). OS, PFS, DOR, OR, and safety observed from the identified studies were described. Disease subtypes, pt eligibility criteria, and length of follow-up varied notably across studies. In the 3L+ population, 11 salvage CT and 2 CAR T cell therapy studies reported survival outcomes. With salvage CT, the reported ORR across studies ranged from 0% to 54%, while CR ranged from 5.6%-31%. Median OS (mOS) ranged between 3-9 months, with one outlying study reporting mOS at 20 months. Median PFS (mPFS) reported within the salvage CT studies ranged from 2-6 months. Among CAR T cell therapies, pts treated with axicabtagene ciloleucel (n=101) reported a CR rate of 58% and median DOR (mDOR) was 11.1 months after a median follow-up of 27.1 months. mPFS was 5.9 months and mOS was not reached. At a median follow-up of 19.3 months, pts treated with tisagenlecleucel (n=115) had a CR of 40% but the mDOR was not reached. mOS was 11.1 months for all infused patients. In the 2L+ transplant-eligible population (36 studies), pts who received high-dose CT + HSCT achieved mOS between 9 months to 5 years. In the transplant noneligible population, 16 studies reported mOS between 3-20 months. Studies involving mixed transplant-eligible and noneligible populations (30 studies) reported mOS of 1-17 months. A few studies with limited sample sizes were found to report outcomes in LBCL subtypes (eg, PMBCL, SCNS lymphoma, DLBCL transformed from non-FL indolent lymphoma, FL3B). In the 3L+ setting, 1 study reported that mOS was not reached after a median of 6.6 months. In the 2L+ setting, 4 studies reported mPFS and mOS outcomes ranging between 2-9 months and 10-16 months, respectively. Among studies assessing safety of salvage CTs in R/R LBCL, neutropenia, leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and infections were the most commonly reported adverse events (AEs), with neutropenia being the most reported. Among the 3 studies reporting safety outcomes of CAR T cell therapy, data suggest that hematologic AEs (possibly related to lymphodepleting CT), cytokine release syndrome, and neurotoxicity are the most reported. Conclusions : Despite the availability of new therapies for 2L+ and 3L + LBCL, examination of the current evidence has shown that there exists a high unmet need for additional therapeutic options that provide favorable benefit/risk and durable response for these patients. Furthermore, limited data are available for the rarer subtypes of LBCL. Both findings represent important treatment gaps for R/R LBCL that must be addressed in future research geared toward improvement of the current treatment landscape. Disclosures Maloney: Juno Therapeutics: Honoraria, Patents & Royalties: patients pending , Research Funding; Celgene,Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding; BioLine RX, Gilead,Genentech,Novartis: Honoraria; A2 Biotherapeutics: Honoraria, Other: Stock options . Liu:Celgene Corporation: Employment. Nientker:Celgene Corporation: Consultancy; Pharmerit Cöoperatief U.A.: Employment. Alleman:Pharmerit Cöoperatief U.A.: Employment; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy. Garcia:Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership.

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