CAR T-cell therapy effective for relapsed mantle cell lymphoma patients
One-year study results show majority of patients who relapsed achieved complete response
MD Anderson News Release December 09, 2019
A one-year follow-up study led by revealed a majority of patients with mantle cell lymphoma resistant to prior therapies may benefit from treatment with CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. were presented Dec. 9 at the in Orlando, Fla.
The multi-center, Phase II study reported that 93% of patients responded to the CAR T-cell therapy, with 67% achieving a complete response. Forty-three percent of the first 28 patients treated are still in remission over two years later.
In CAR T-cell therapy, patients¡¯ T cells are extracted through a process called leukapheresis and genetically reengineered with CAR molecules that help T cells attack cancer cells. The reengineered T cells are infused back into the patient.
¡°Outcomes for patients whose disease progresses following initial treatments is poor,¡± said professor of Lymphoma & Myeloma. ¡°Our study demonstrated significant and durable clinical benefit for patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma for which there are no curative treatment options.¡±
Patients whose disease progresses despite treatment with the standard therapy, Bruton¡¯s tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) agents, generally do not live past six months, and few patients qualify to proceed to an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
In this study, the patients¡¯ median age was 65 years, and 84% were male. More than 80% of the patients had stage IV disease, with half diagnosed as intermediate to high-risk.
The study reported Grade 3 side effects, with the most common being anemia and low platelet count. The majority of patients experienced cytokine release syndrome, a common side effect of CAR T-cell therapy, but the syndrome was effectively managed in all patients.
¡°ZUMA-2 is the first multi-center, Phase II study of CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, and these interim efficacy and safety results are encouraging,¡± said Wang. ¡°Although this study continues, our reported results, including a manageable safety profile, point to this therapy as an effective and viable option for patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.¡±
The study was funded by Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company. Wang has received research support, and has served on the advisory board and as a consultant for Kite Pharma.
Other participating institutions included Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Gilbert, Ariz.; Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, N.J.; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Fla.; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland; UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles; Texas Oncology, Dallas; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio; Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tenn.; Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, Denver; Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif.; Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle; University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; Kite, a Gilead Company, Santa Monica, Calif.; and the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y.