scholarly journals CD19 CAR T cells following autologous transplantation in poor-risk relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (7) ◽  
pp. 626-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Sauter ◽  
Brigitte Senechal ◽  
Isabelle Rivière ◽  
Ai Ni ◽  
Yvette Bernal ◽  
...  

Abstract High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT-ASCT) is the standard of care for relapsed or primary refractory (rel/ref) chemorefractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Only 50% of patients are cured with this approach. We investigated safety and efficacy of CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells administered following HDT-ASCT. Eligibility for this study includes poor-risk rel/ref aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma chemosensitive to salvage therapy with: (1) positron emission tomography–positive disease or (2) bone marrow involvement. Patients underwent standard HDT-ASCT followed by 19-28z CAR T cells on days +2 and +3. Of 15 subjects treated on study, dose-limiting toxicity was observed at both dose levels (5 × 106 and 1 × 107 19-28z CAR T per kilogram). Ten of 15 subjects experienced CAR T-cell–induced neurotoxicity and/or cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which were associated with greater CAR T-cell persistence (P = .05) but not peak CAR T-cell expansion. Serum interferon-γ elevation (P < .001) and possibly interleukin-10 (P = .07) were associated with toxicity. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) is 30% (95% confidence interval, 20% to 70%).  Subjects given decreased naive-like (CD45RA+CCR7+) CD4+ and CD8+ CAR T cells experienced superior PFS (P = .02 and .04, respectively). There was no association between CAR T-cell peak expansion, persistence, or cytokine changes and PFS. 19-28z CAR T cells following HDT-ASCT were associated with a high incidence of reversible neurotoxicity and CRS. Following HDT-ASCT, effector CD4+ and CD8+ immunophenotypes may improve disease control. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01840566.

Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 4187-4187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zixun Yan ◽  
Wen Wang ◽  
Zhong Zheng ◽  
Ming Hao ◽  
Su Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction JWCAR029 is a novel CD19-directed 4-1BB stimulated chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell type, which is different from JWCAR017 with independent production of CD4 and CD8 T cells and transfusion in non-fixed ratio. We conducted a single arm, open-label, dose escalation Phase I trial of JWCAR029 in relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NCT03355859). Methods From January to July 2018, 10 patients have been enrolled in this trial, including eight diffused large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and two MALT lymphoma, with median age of 47 years (range 32 to 59 years). All the patients received immunochemotherapy as induction and more than two lines of salvage treatment. Two patients received bridging chemotherapy after T-cell collection due to rapid tumor progression, followed by re-evaluation before CAR-T cell infusion. Lymphodepletion preconditioning was accomplished by fludarabine 25mg/m2/d and cyclophosphamide 250mg/m2/d on Day-4 to D-2, followed by CAR-T cell infusion on Day0. JWCAR029 was administrated as a single infusion in escalation dose levels, from 2.5×107 CAR-T cells (dose level 1, DL1) to 5.0×107 CAR-T cells (dose level 2, DL2) and to 1.0×108 CAR-T cells (dose level 3, DL3) according to mTPI-2 algorithm. Circulating blood count, serum biochemistry, and coagulation status were follow-up after infusion. Cytokines were assessed on a Luminex platform. Tumor evaluation was performed on Day 29 by PET-CT. PK data were detected by flow cytometry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction system. All the adverse events were recorded. The study was approved by the Shanghai Rui Jin Hospital Review Board with informed consent obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results The demographic characteristics of the patients were demonstrated in Table 1. Among six evaluable patients (3 of DL1 and 3 of DL2), the ORR was 100% on Day 29, including four complete remission and 2 partial remission. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was 100% in Gr 1, with main symptoms as fever (<39.0 degrees), fatigue, and muscle soreness. No neurotoxicity was observed. Four of the six patients with fever >38.0 degrees used prophylactic IL-6 Inhibitor (8mg/kg, ACTEMRA, two patients administered twice). No patients received steroids. The CRS showed no difference between dose level groups (p>0.99). Adverse effects included leukopenia (Gr 3-4: 83.3%, Gr 1-2: 16.7%), hypofibrinogenemia (Gr 1: 16.7%, Gr 2-4: 0%), liver dysfunction (Gr 1: 33.3%, Gr 2-4: 0%), elevated CRP (Gr 1: 83.3%, Gr 2-4: 0%), ferritin (Gr 1-2: 83.3%, Gr 2-4: 0%), or IL-6 (Gr 1-2:100%, Gr 3-4: 0%, Table 2). Conclusion Although long-term follow-up was needed, the preliminary data of six patients in this trial have demonstrated high response rates and safety of JWCAR029 in treating relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Disclosures Hao: JW Therapeutics: Employment, Equity Ownership.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1730-1730
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Jiaqi Li ◽  
Xiangping Zong ◽  
Jin Zhou ◽  
Sixun Jia ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Despite the remarkable success of chimeric antigen receptor modified T (CAR-T) cell therapy for refractory or relapsed B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R B-NHL), high rates of treatment failure and relapse after CAR-T cell therapy are considerable obstacles to overcome. Preclinical models have demonstrated that anti-PD-1 antibody is an attractive option following CAR-T therapy to reverse T cell exhaustion. Thus, we investigated their combination in R/R B-NHL. Methods: We performed a prospective, single-arm study of CAR-T cell combined with anti-PD-1 antibody treatment in R/R B-NHL (NCT04539444). Anti-PD-1 antibody was administrated on day 1 after patients received sequential infusion of anti-CD19 and anti-CD22 second-generation CAR-T cells, and the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment were evaluated. Results: From August 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, a total of 11 patients were enrolled and completed at least 3 months follow-up. The median follow-up time is 5.8 months. Overall response was achieved in 9 of 11 patients (81.8%), and the complete response (CR) was achieved in 8 of 11 patients (72.7%). All 8 patients achieving CR still sustained remission at the last follow-up. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates at 6 months were 80.8% and 100.0%, respectively. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in only 4 patients (all were grade 1), and no neurotoxicity were observed. Conclusion: This study suggests that CAR-T cells combined with anti-PD-1 antibody elicit a safe and durable response in R/R B-NHL. Keywords: chimeric antigen receptor modified T cell, anti-PD-1 antibody, CD19/CD22, refractory or relapsed B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. OffLabel Disclosure: We use the T cells were transduced with a lentivirus encoding the CD19-4-1BB-CD3 z and CD22-4-1BB-CD3 ztransgene to produce CAR-T cells. The main purpose of our study is to improve the response rate in patients with R/R B-NHL.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 557-557
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Hui Shi ◽  
Yang Lei ◽  
Ruiting Li ◽  
Teng Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The prognosis of refractory/relapsed aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) and multiple myeloma (r/r MM) is extremely poor, especially for the patients who failed to CAR-T cells therapy and/or ASCT. Aims: Forr/r B-NHLand r/r MM, a clinical trial using Allo-HSCT with conditioning including donor humanized CAR-T cells from the same donor (allo-CAR-T) has been registered, and the safety and efficacy will be evaluated. Methods: From September 2020 to May 2021, 11 patients were enrolled.The median age was 41 (26-64) years old. The diagnosis included high grade B-cell lymphoma (n=9) and Multiple myeloma (n=2). Seven cases were with TP53 mutations.All patients was progressive disease (PD) who failed to multi-line therapies, including chemotherapy (n=11), ASCT (n=4), autologous CAR-T (n=11).In order to further reduce the tumor burden, all patients were treated with combination therapy before transplantation. Before the trial, the expression of CD19 and/or CD22 or CD20 antigen in tumor tissue of r/r B-NHL and BCMA antigen in r/r MM patients was positive confirmed by immunohistochemistry.There were matched sibling identical donor in 1 case,matched unrelated donor in 1 case and haploidentical donor in 9 cases;Conditioning with busulfan, fludarabine-based regimen combined with allo-CAR-T was applied. Tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, a short-term methotrexate and antithymocyte globulin were used for GVHD prophylaxis. The kinetics and function of CAR-T cells was monitored by quantitative PCR and flow cytometry. The efficacy was evaluated by PET-CT in r/r NHL as well as bone marrow puncture and immunofixation electrophoresis in r/r MM every 2 month after CAR-T infusion. Results: The median allo-CAR-T cells infused were 4 (range,0.78-4.88)×10 6/kg. CRS occurred in all cases with 6 cases in grade I, 1 case in grade II and 4 cases in grade III.The peak of cytokine IFN-γ and IL-6 in grade III CRS were significantly higher than those with grade I-II.No ICANS was noted. Four cases with grade III CRS were relieved with methylprednisolone. G-CSF-mobilized PBSC were infused 7 days after allo-CAR-T with the median CD34 + cells 6 (range,3-8.19)×10 6/kg. The neutrophil and platelets engraftment was achieved in all cases on median days 13 (range,11-24) and 16 (range,14-85) respectively post-transplant .All cases were donor type by STR analysis.Three cases of grade II acute GVHD were seen. CMV viremia occurred in 7 cases.For allo-CAR-T cell expansion,the peak time in vivo was on median 14(range,7-28) days after infusion.The median peak lever was 221 (range,0.191-1502)×10 6/L, which positively correlated with the number of allo-CAR-T infused. The tumor burden before transplantation was not significantly associated with allo-CAR-T expansion.Levels of allo-CAR-T cells were very low after the first 2 months of HSCT which detected persistently in 9/11(81.8%) patients, and the longest lasting time was 239 days post-transplant so far. B-cell aplasia was documented in 8/9 cases of r/r B-NHL during the follow-up. With the median follow-up 171 (range,100-295) days, 7/11(63.6%) patients survived,five cases(5/11,45.5%) achieved CR,one cases(1/11,9.1%) obtained PR, and 1 case(1/11,9.1%) of MM achieved SD and survival with tumor .Three cases(3/11,27.3%) with DLBCL died of PD whose disease status before transplantation were SD or PD, one patient(1/11,9.1%) died of infection.Significantly lower levels of Cumulative CAR T cell levels (AUC) during the first 2 month post transplantation were observed in patients who relapsed compared with those who had durable responses (P=0.0001).aGVHD were not associated directly with in vivo CAR T-cell expansion(P=0.193). Conclusion: Our preliminary results have shown that CRS is manageable and has no influence on hematopoiesis reconstitution. Allo-CAR-T cells still exist persistently post-transplant in majority of patients, which may contribute a long-term anti-lymphoma effect.With current protocol, aGVHD and viral reactivation was mild. Allo-HSCT with conditioning including allo-CAR-T cells is a safe and effective strategy for r/r B-NHL and MM. The Poor clinical efficacy was associated with high tumor burden before transplantation. [Key words] refractory/relapsed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma; refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma;allogeneic CAR-T cell; allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1945-1945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenqun Zhang ◽  
Bo Hu ◽  
Ling Jing ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Shan Wang ◽  
...  

Background:Outcomes for pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are poor despite use of high-intensity chemotherapy. CAR-T has shown efficacy in treating refractory/relapsed leukemia in pediatric patients and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adult patients. Objectives:To assess the safety and efficacy of sequential CAR-T in the treatment of refractory/ relapsed B-NHL in pediatric patients. Design/Methods:In our ongoing clinical trial (ChiCTR1800014457), we enrolled and treated 17 pediatric patients with refractory/relapsed B-NHL. Following leukapheresis, T cells were activated with CD3 and CD28 antibodies for 24h, then transduced with lentivirus encoding anti-CD19-CD3zeta-4-1BB CAR and cultured for 5-6 days in serum-free media containing IL2, IL7, IL15, IL21. Meanwhile, all patients briefly received lympho-depleting chemotherapies consisting of fludarabine (30 mg/m2/day) and cyclophosphamide (250 mg/m2/day) on days −5, −4 and −3 according to tumor burden and patient state. On day 0, all patients received a single-dose infusion of CAR-T cells. CAR-T cell dose ranged from 0.5 to 3 million/kg. CAR-T cell numbers and cytokines were measured weekly. Tumor responses were evaluated at day 30 and day 60 post infusion and every two months thereafter. Adverse events were graded according to CTCAEv4 except cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was graded according to Lee et al. Results:Treated patients had relapsed/refractory Burkitt lymphoma (BL) (13/17), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (2/17), B-lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-LBL) (2/17), and ranged from 4.5-18.0 years old. By St Jude's staging, 9 cases (46.7%) were in stage III, 8 cases (53.3%) were in stage IV. There were 3 cases with CNS involvement (17.6%) and 7 cases with bone marrow involvement (41.2%). They all failed at prior treatment including an average of 8.9 (6-15) courses of chemotherapy. They were then treated with sequential CAR-T cell therapy. A total of 26 courses of CAR-T cell infusion were administered. The overall complete response rate (CRR) was 41.7% (7/17) when first course of CAR-T therapy was conducted, which were all CD19 targeted. Among the 10 patients who did not achieve CR, 2 patients achieved PR with ongoing response, 1 patient died of severe CRS and progression at day 6 and another patient refused to continue the following therapy when tumor progressed at day 99, and he died 1 week later, the other 6 continued to receive second course of CAR-T therapy targeting CD20 or CD22, and 3 of them achieved CR. Thus the overall CRR increased to 58.8% (10/17). The 3 patients, who still did not achieve CR, continued to receive third course of CAR-T therapy targeting CD20 or CD22. Two of them finally achieved CR and the other failed to get CR and is now retreated with chemotherapy and oral Olaparib and Venclexta. Thus, with a median follow-up of 6.2 months (1-18 months), the overall response rate of sequential CAR-T therapy was 94.1% (16/17) and the overall CRR was 70.6% (12/17). Toxicity information through day 30 revealed the occurrence of mild CRS in 8 subjects (47.1%, grade I n=8, grade II n=0), severe CRS in 9 subjects (52.9%, grade III n=8, grade IV n=1). Neurotoxicity was observed in 7 cases (41.2%, seizure in 3 cases, tremor in 4 cases, headache in 1 cases). One case who died rapidly at day 6 of therapy suffered severe CRS (high fever, Capillary leak syndrome, severe pleural effusion, respiratory failure, shock, cardiopulmonary arrest) and neurotoxicity besides disease progression. Other patients with severe CRS and neurotoxicity recovered fully after glucocorticoid use and symptomatic treatment including anti-epilepsy, fluid, dehydrating agent. No case used tocilizumab. Response assessments were performed at day 15, 30, 45, 60. Updated enrollment, toxicity and response assessments will be presented. Conclusion: CD19/CD20/CD22-CAR-T therapy showed promising efficacy for pediatric patients with r/r B-NHL and the toxicities are tolerable with proper symptomatic and supportive treatment. Sequential CAR-T therapy can improve the efficacy compared with a single course of CAR-T infusion. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 2800-2800
Author(s):  
Michael Olson ◽  
Tim Luetkens ◽  
Fiorella Iglesias ◽  
Sabarinath Radhakrishnan ◽  
Jennie Y. Law ◽  
...  

Abstract B cell lymphoma is the most common hematologic malignancy in the United States. Although treatment options have greatly improved in the past several decades, outcomes for patients with relapsed B cell lymphoma remain poor. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have recently entered the clinic with promise to address the gap in effective therapies for patients relapsed B cell lymphoma. However, antigen loss and poor CAR T cell persistence has been shown to drive resistance to the widely approved CD19-targeted CAR in some patients, demonstrating the need for additional therapies. Here, we demonstrate CD229-targeted CAR T cell therapy as a promising option for the treatment of relapsed B cell lymphoma, addressing an important group of patients with typically poor outcomes. CD229 is an immune-modulating receptor expressed on the surface of B cells that we recently found to be highly expressed in the plasma cell neoplasm multiple myeloma (Radhakrishnan et al. 2020). We utilized semi-quantitative PCR and flow cytometry to assess whether CD229 is also expressed on malignant B cells earlier in development as found in B cell lymphoma. Expression analysis revealed the presence of CD229 in a panel of 11 B cell lymphoma cell lines and 45 primary B cell lymphoma samples comprising several subsets of disease including aggressive B cell lymphomas such as diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and Burkitt lymphoma as well as indolent subtypes of B cell lymphoma including chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) and follicular lymphoma. Of note, CD229 was found to be overexpressed on primary B cell lymphoma cells when compared to autologous normal B cells. Given the high levels of CD229 expression throughout all B cell lymphoma subtypes analyzed, we generated CD229 CAR T cells in order to determine whether CAR T cell therapy is an effective way to target CD229 expressing B cell lymphoma cells. CD229 CAR T cells exhibited robust cytotoxicity when cocultured with B cell lymphoma cell lines and primary samples characterized by significant production of TH1 cytokines IL-2, TNF and IFNγ and rapid loss of B cell lymphoma cell viability when compared to control CAR T cells lacking an antigen binding scFv domain (∆scFv CAR T cells). In vivo analysis revealed effective tumor control in NSG mice carrying B cell lymphoma cell lines JeKo-1 (MCL) and DB (DLBCL) when treated with CD229 CAR T cells versus ∆scFv CAR T cells. Finally, we sought to determine the efficacy of CD229 CAR T cells in the context of CD19 CAR T cell therapy relapse. Here, a 71-year-old patient with CLL had an initial response when treated with CD19 CAR T cells but quickly relapsed only 2 months after treatment. Malignant cells from the CLL patient retained CD229 expression as identified by flow cytometry and an ex vivo coculture with CD229 CAR T cells revealed robust killing of CLL cells by CD229 CAR T cells. Transfer of antigen from target cell to CAR T cell by trogocytosis was recently suggested to drive relapse following CAR T cell therapy by decreasing antigen on tumor cells and promoting CAR T cell fratricide (Hamieh et al. 2019). We cocultured CD19 and CD229 CAR T cells with primary CLL cells and assessed CD19 and CD229 expression as well as CAR T cell viability by flow cytometry. In contrast with CD19 CAR T cells, CD229 CARs did not strip their target antigen from the surface of CLL cells. The transfer of CD19 from CLL cells to CD19 CAR T cells resulted in poor CAR T cell viability while CD229 CAR T cell viability remained high following coculture. In summary, we demonstrate that CD229 is a promising therapeutic target in B cell lymphoma due to its high levels of expression throughout many subtypes of disease. CD229 CAR T cells effectively kill B cell lymphoma cells in vitro and control growth of aggressive B cell lymphomas in vivo. Finally, CD229 CAR T cells are effective against primary CLL cells from patients that have relapsed from CD19 CAR T cell therapy and do no exhibit antigen loss by trogocytosis. Taken together, these data suggest that CD229 CAR T cell therapy may be a promising option to address the poor outcomes for patients with relapsed B cell lymphoma. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (19) ◽  
pp. 3789-3793
Author(s):  
Susanne Jung ◽  
Jochen Greiner ◽  
Stephanie von Harsdorf ◽  
Pavle Popovic ◽  
Roland Moll ◽  
...  

Abstract Treatment with CD19-directed (CAR) T cells has evolved as a standard of care for multiply relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (r/r LBCL). A common side effect of this treatment is the immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Severe ICANS can occur in up to 30% to 40% of patients treated with axicabtagene-ciloleucel (axi-cel), usually within the first 4 weeks after administration of the dose and usually responding well to steroids. We describe a case of progressive central neurotoxicity occurring 9 months after axi-cel infusion in a patient with r/r LBCL who had undergone a prior allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Despite extensive systemic and intrathecal immunosuppression, neurological deterioration was inexorable and eventually fatal within 5 months. High CAR T-cell DNA copy numbers and elevated levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 were found in the cerebral spinal fluid as clinical symptoms emerged, and CAR T-cell brain infiltration was observed on autopsy, suggesting that CAR T cells played a major pathogenetic role. This case of unexpected, devastating, late neurotoxicity warrants intensified investigation of neurological off-target effects of CD19-directed CAR T cells and highlights the need for continuous monitoring for late toxicities in this vulnerable patient population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Blache ◽  
Ronald Weiss ◽  
Andreas Boldt ◽  
Michael Kapinsky ◽  
André-René Blaudszun ◽  
...  

Adoptive immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells has achieved successful remissions in refractory B-cell leukemia and B-cell lymphomas. In order to estimate both success and severe side effects of CAR-T cell therapies, longitudinal monitoring of the patient’s immune system including CAR-T cells is desirable to accompany clinical staging. To conduct research on the fate and immunological impact of infused CAR-T cells, we established standardized 13-colour/15-parameter flow cytometry assays that are suitable to characterize immune cell subpopulations in the peripheral blood during CAR-T cell treatment. The respective staining technology is based on pre-formulated dry antibody panels in a uniform format. Additionally, further antibodies of choice can be added to address specific clinical or research questions. We designed panels for the anti-CD19 CAR-T therapy and, as a proof of concept, we assessed a healthy individual and three B-cell lymphoma patients treated with anti-CD19 CAR-T cells. We analyzed the presence of anti-CD19 CAR-T cells as well as residual CD19+ B cells, the activation status of the T-cell compartment, the expression of co-stimulatory signaling molecules and cytotoxic agents such as perforin and granzyme B. In summary, this work introduces standardized and modular flow cytometry assays for CAR-T cell clinical research, which could also be adapted in the future as quality controls during the CAR-T cell manufacturing process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limin Xing ◽  
Yihao Wang ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Shan Gao ◽  
Qing Shao ◽  
...  

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells show good efficacy in the treatment of relapsed and refractory B-cell tumors, such as acute B-cell leukemia (ALL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The main toxicities of CAR-T include cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, cytopenia, and severe infection. It is still very difficult for CAR-T to kill tumor cells to the maximum extent and avoid damaging normal organs. Here, we report a case of DLBCL with persistent grade 4 thrombocytopenia and severe platelet transfusion dependence treated with CD19 CAR-T cells. We used sirolimus to inhibit the sustained activation of CAR-T cells and restore normal bone marrow hematopoiesis and peripheral blood cells. Moreover, sirolimus treatment did not affect the short-term efficacy of CAR-T cells, and DLBCL was in complete remission at the end of follow-up. In conclusion, sirolimus can represent a new strategy for the management of CAR-T cell therapy-related toxicity, including but not limited to hematotoxicity. However, further controlled clinical studies are required to confirm these findings.


Author(s):  
Paolo Strati ◽  
Shabnum Patel ◽  
Loretta Nastoupil ◽  
Michelle A. Fanale ◽  
Catherine M. Bollard ◽  
...  

Immune-based treatment strategies, such as checkpoint inhibition and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, have started a new frontier for treatment in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Checkpoint inhibition has been most successful in Hodgkin lymphoma, where higher expression of PD-L1 is correlated with better overall response rate. Combinations of checkpoint inhibition with various chemotherapy or biologics are in clinical trials, with initially promising results and manageable safety profiles. CAR T-cell therapies that target CD19 are a promising and attractive therapy for B-cell NHLs, with a product approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017. Changes in the target, hinge, or costimulatory domain can dramatically alter the persistence and efficacy of the CAR T cells. The ZUMA trials from Kite used CD19-(CD28z) CAR T cells, whereas the TRANSCEND studies from Juno and the JULIET studies from Novartis used CD19-(4-1BBz) CARs. Despite the recent successes with CAR T-cell clinical trials, major concerns associated with this therapy include cytokine release syndrome, potential neurotoxicities, B-cell aplasia, loss of tumor antigen leading to relapse, and cost and accessibility of the treatment. Although first-generation CAR T-cell therapies have failed in solid malignancies, newer second- and third-generation CAR T cells that target antigens other than CD19 (such as mesothelin or B-cell maturation antigen) are being studied in clinical trials for treatment of lung cancer or multiple myeloma. Overall, immune-based treatment strategies have given oncologists and patients hope when there used to be none, as well as a new basket of tools yet to come with further research and development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3012-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Cappell ◽  
Richard Mark Sherry ◽  
James C. Yang ◽  
Stephanie L. Goff ◽  
Danielle Vanasse ◽  
...  

3012 Background: T cells expressing anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) can cause complete remissions of relapsed lymphoma. We conducted the first clinical trial of anti-CD19 CAR T cells to show responses against lymphoma. This CAR was later developed as axicabtagene ciloleucel. Here, we aimed to assess the long-term durability of remissions and the long-term adverse effects after anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. Methods: Between 2009 and 2015, we treated 43 patients with anti-CD19 CAR T cells preceded by conditioning chemotherapy of cyclophosphamide plus fludarabine (NCT00924326). Three patients were re-treated for a total of 46 CAR T-cell treatments. Twenty-eight patients had aggressive lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma), eight patients had low-grade lymphoma (five with follicular lymphoma and 1 each with splenic marginal zone lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and unspecified low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma), and seven patients had chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patients were treated in three cohorts that differed in the CAR T-cell production process and conditioning chemotherapy dose. Results: Of the 43 treated patients, 63% had chemotherapy-refractory lymphoma. Patients had received a median of 4 previous lines of therapy. The median CAR+ T cell dose per kilogram was 2X10^6. The overall remission rate was 76% with 54% complete remissions (CR) and 22% partial remissions (PR). Patients with CR had higher median peak blood CAR levels (86 CAR+ cells/µL) than those who did not have CR (16 CAR+ cells/µL, P= 0.0041). Long-term adverse effects were rare except for B-cell depletion and hypogammaglobulinemia, which both improved over time. Conclusions: This is the longest follow-up study of patients who received anti-CD19 CAR T cells. Anti-CD19 CAR T cells cause highly durable remissions of relapsed B-cell lymphoma and CLL, and long-term adverse effects of anti-CD19 CAR T cells were rare and usually mild. Clinical trial information: NCT00924326 . [Table: see text]


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