scholarly journals Advancing CAR T-Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors: Lessons Learned from Lymphoma Treatment

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksei Titov ◽  
Aygul Valiullina ◽  
Ekaterina Zmievskaya ◽  
Ekaterina Zaikova ◽  
Alexey Petukhov ◽  
...  

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) immunotherapy is one of the most promising modern approaches for the treatment of cancer. To date only two CAR T-cell products, Kymriah® and Yescarta®, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell lymphoma. Administration of CAR T-cells to control solid tumors has long been envisaged as one of the most difficult therapeutic tasks. The first two clinical trials conducted in sarcoma and neuroblastoma patients showed clinical benefits of CAR T-cells, yet multiple obstacles still hold us back from having accessible and efficient therapy. Why did such an effective treatment for relapsed and refractory hematological malignancies demonstrate only relatively modest efficiency in the context of solid tumors? Is it due to the lucky selection of the “magic” CD19 antigen, which might be one of a kind? Or do lymphomas lack the immunosuppressive features of solid tumors? Here we review the existing knowledge in the field of CAR T-cell therapy and address the heterogeneity of solid tumors and their diverse strategies of immunoevasion. We also provide an insight into prospective developments of CAR T-cell technologies against solid tumors.

Author(s):  
Ya.Yu. Kiseleva ◽  
A.M. Shishkin ◽  
A.V. Ivanov ◽  
T.M. Kulinich ◽  
V.K. Bozhenko

Adoptive immunotherapy that makes use of genetically modified autologous T cells carrying a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) with desired specificity is a promising approach to the treatment of advanced or relapsed solid tumors. However, there are a number of challenges facing the CAR T-cell therapy, including the ability of the tumor to silence the expression of target antigens in response to the selective pressure exerted by therapy and the dampening of the functional activity of CAR T cells by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This review discusses the existing gene-engineering approaches to the modification of CAR T-cell design for 1) creating universal “switchable” synthetic receptors capable of attacking a variety of target antigens; 2) enhancing the functional activity of CAR T cells in the immunosuppressive microenvironment of the tumor by silencing the expression of inhibiting receptors or by stimulating production of cytokines.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (13) ◽  
pp. 3024-3033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kitsada Wudhikarn ◽  
Martina Pennisi ◽  
Marta Garcia-Recio ◽  
Jessica R. Flynn ◽  
Aishat Afuye ◽  
...  

Abstract Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome are the most notable toxicities of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. In addition, CAR T-cell–mediated toxicities can involve any organ system, with varied impacts on outcomes, depending on patient factors and involved organs. We performed detailed analysis of organ-specific toxicities and their association with outcomes in 60 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with CD19 CAR T cells by assessing all toxicities in organ-based groups during the first year posttreatment. We observed 539 grade ≥2 and 289 grade ≥3 toxicities. Common grade ≥3 toxicities included hematological, metabolic, infectious, and neurological complications, with corresponding 1-year cumulative incidence of 57.7%, 54.8%, 35.4%, and 18.3%, respectively. Patients with impaired performance status had a higher risk of grade ≥3 metabolic complications, whereas elevated lactate dehydrogenase was associated with higher risks of grade ≥3 neurological and pulmonary toxicities. CRS was associated with higher incidence of grade ≥3 metabolic, pulmonary, and neurologic complications. The 1-year nonrelapse mortality and overall survival were 1.7% and 69%, respectively. Only grade ≥3 pulmonary toxicities were associated with an increased mortality risk. In summary, toxicity burdens after CD19 CAR T-cell therapy were high and varied by organ systems. Most toxicities were manageable and were rarely associated with mortality. Our study emphasizes the importance of toxicity assessment, which could serve as a benchmark for further research to reduce symptom burdens and improve tolerability in patients treated with CAR T cells.


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):  
Alexander Ring ◽  
Antonia Maria Müller

ABSTRACT Introduction: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common neoplasm of the lymphatic system. Treatment and clinical management are difficult in the relapsed/refractory (R/R) setting. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are genetically engineered using autologous patient lymphocytes and have shown very promising results in the treatment of relapsed and refractory cases of DLBCL. Methods: A 64-year-old male patient with refractory DLBCL and central nervous system (CNS) involvement after 9 lines of therapy was treated with CD19-specific CAR T cell therapy at the Department of medical oncology and hematology at the University Hospital of Zurich and followed-up for 10 weeks. Results: Autologous lymphocytes were successfully harvested and transfected/expanded for CAR T cell production. Conditioning chemotherapy and CAR T infusion was well tolerated. Post-infusion side effects were mild (cytokine release syndrome [CRS] grade 1−2), with limited signs of neurotoxicity. Ten weeks after CAR T cell therapy, an excellent response could be documented via PET-CT. The CNS lesion disappeared as assessed via cranial MRI. Conclusion: CD19-targeted CAR T cell therapy is a revolutionary treatment option for heavily pre-treated R/R DLBCL even in the setting of CNS involvement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Liang ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Zheming Lu ◽  
Wen Lei ◽  
Chaoting Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractCD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy is a promising option to treat relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL). However, the majority of CAR T-treated patients will eventually progress and require salvage treatment, for which there is no current standard. In this study, we analyzed data from 6 patients with R/R DLBCL who experienced progression following CD19-CAR T therapy, and then received CD19-specific CAR T cells that express a PD-1/CD28 chimeric switch-receptor (CD19-PD-1/CD28-CAR T) as salvage therapy at our institution. After the second infusion of CAR T cells, 3 of 6 patients achieved complete remissions and the duration of the response of responsive patients ranged from 8 to 25 months. One patient showed a stable disease. In contrast, 2/6 patients died on 60 days because of progression disease. Importantly, no severe neurologic toxicity or cytokine release syndrome was observed. These data suggest that CD19-PD-1/CD28-CAR-T cells, a novel anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy, elicit a potent and durable anticancer response, and can be used in the post-CD19-CAR T failure setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Sterner ◽  
Rosalie M. Sterner

AbstractChimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a revolutionary new pillar in cancer treatment. Although treatment with CAR-T cells has produced remarkable clinical responses with certain subsets of B cell leukemia or lymphoma, many challenges limit the therapeutic efficacy of CAR-T cells in solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Barriers to effective CAR-T cell therapy include severe life-threatening toxicities, modest anti-tumor activity, antigen escape, restricted trafficking, and limited tumor infiltration. In addition, the host and tumor microenvironment interactions with CAR-T cells critically alter CAR-T cell function. Furthermore, a complex workforce is required to develop and implement these treatments. In order to overcome these significant challenges, innovative strategies and approaches to engineer more powerful CAR-T cells with improved anti-tumor activity and decreased toxicity are necessary. In this review, we discuss recent innovations in CAR-T cell engineering to improve clinical efficacy in both hematological malignancy and solid tumors and strategies to overcome limitations of CAR-T cell therapy in both hematological malignancy and solid tumors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 271 ◽  
pp. 03065
Author(s):  
Chang Wu ◽  
Jun Wu

Digestive tumors commonly include esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer. Most of which are malignant tumors. All of the tumors do strong harm to human body and seriously affect the physical and mental health of patients. With the change of modern dietary habits, the morbidity of digestive tumors is increasing year by year, and the threat to the society is increasingly intensified. Traditional treatments for digestive tumors include surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all of which can alleviate the symptoms to some extent, but there are still many drawbacks. Compared with traditional therapy, immunotherapy has better therapeutic effect and fewer adverse reactions. Immunotherapy is to activate the human immune system and kill tumor cells by its own immune function. In immunotherapy, CAR-T cell therapy, a kind of personalized therapy that takes effect through gene modification to obtain T cells carrying tumor antigen-specific receptor, occupies a leading position. At present, CAR-T cells have shown excellent results in the treatment of lymphoid and hematopoietic tumors, on the contrast, there are few studies on the treatment of solid tumors. In this article, we summarized the application of some CAR-T cells in solid tumors of the digestive system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 5942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis C. Harrer ◽  
Jan Dörrie ◽  
Niels Schaft

Targeting cancer cells using chimeric-antigen-receptor (CAR-)T cells has propelled adoptive T-cell therapy (ATT) to the next level. A plentitude of durable complete responses using CD19-specific CAR-T cells in patients suffering from various lymphoid malignancies resulted in the approval by the food and drug administration (FDA) of CD19-directed CAR-T cells for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). A substantial portion of this success in hematological malignancies can be traced back to the beneficial properties of the target antigen CD19, which combines a universal presence on target cells with no detectable expression on indispensable host cells. Hence, to replicate response rates achieved in ALL and DLBCL in the realm of solid tumors, where ideal target antigens are scant and CAR-T cells are still lagging behind expectations, the quest for appropriate target antigens represents a crucial task to expedite the next steps in the evolution of CAR-T-cell therapy. In this review, we want to highlight the potential of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) as a CAR-target antigen for a variety of different cancer entities. In particular, we discuss merits and challenges associated with CSPG4-CAR-T cells for the ATT of melanoma, leukemia, glioblastoma, and triple-negative breast cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi266-vi266
Author(s):  
Prativa Sahoo ◽  
Xin Yang ◽  
Daniel Abler ◽  
Davide Maestrini ◽  
Vikram Adhikarla ◽  
...  

Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is an emerging targeted immunotherapy which has shown success in liquid cancers such as leukemias. CAR T-cells are also being used for the treatment of solid tumors such as glioblastoma, which is a primary brain tumor. Ongoing phase I trials have been designed to evaluate CAR T-cell dosing, scheduling, and route of administration in order to understand and improve the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy. A better understanding of factors leading to the success of CAR T-cell immunotherapy for solid tumors will be necessary to improve outcomes for patients with solid tumors and to advance the field of CAR T-cell immuno-oncology. Here we use mathematical model to explore factors in determining a successful response to CAR T-cell therapy: proliferation, persistence, and killing capacity of CAR T-cells. Using a novel in vitro experimental apparatus, we are able to measure the density of cancer cells over several days in 15 minute interval time resolution. This highly temporally resolved data provides a unique opportunity to confidently estimate parameters of the model and to provide insights into the dynamics of CAR T-cell proliferation, persistence, and killing capacity. Furthermore we explore the relationship between these factor with CAR T-cell dose level. We will show results from experiments using patient-derived cancer cell lines as well as cancer cells engineered to express specific levels of the target antigen (IL13Rα2) to quantitatively evaluate the roles of proliferation, persistence, and killing in cells with different levels of antigen expression. We will discuss the interpretation of the model parameters and demonstrate the clinical value of this analysis through an application of CAR T-cell treatment tailored to the dynamics of an individual patient’s cancer growth rate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darel Martínez Bedoya ◽  
Valérie Dutoit ◽  
Denis Migliorini

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has emerged as one of the major breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy in the last decade. Outstanding results in hematological malignancies and encouraging pre-clinical anti-tumor activity against a wide range of solid tumors have made CAR T cells one of the most promising fields for cancer therapies. CAR T cell therapy is currently being investigated in solid tumors including glioblastoma (GBM), a tumor for which survival has only modestly improved over the past decades. CAR T cells targeting EGFRvIII, Her2, or IL-13Rα2 have been tested in GBM, but the first clinical trials have shown modest results, potentially due to GBM heterogeneity and to the presence of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Until now, the use of autologous T cells to manufacture CAR products has been the norm, but this approach has several disadvantages regarding production time, cost, manufacturing delay and dependence on functional fitness of patient T cells, often reduced by the disease or previous therapies. Universal “off-the-shelf,” or allogeneic, CAR T cells is an alternative that can potentially overcome these issues, and allow for multiple modifications and CAR combinations to target multiple tumor antigens and avoid tumor escape. Advances in genome editing tools, especially via CRISPR/Cas9, might allow overcoming the two main limitations of allogeneic CAR T cells product, i.e., graft-vs.-host disease and host allorejection. Here, we will discuss how allogeneic CAR T cells could allow for multivalent approaches and alteration of the tumor microenvironment, potentially allowing the development of next generation therapies for the treatment of patients with GBM.


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