News

Health-related quality of life (QOL) improved in 54% of patients 18 years or older with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL) after therapy with tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah; Novartis), one of 2 FDA-approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. The patients’ general health, vitality, physical function, and social function improved the most.

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, discusses updates and remaining questions with CAR T-cell therapy.

The novel B-cell therapy has been assigned a PDUFA date of June 2020.

An “off-the-shelf” Epstein Barr-virus–specific cytotoxic lymphocyte CAR product derived from cells harvested from third-party donors induced a 100% response rate in adult and pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Outpatient administration of CAR T-Cell therapy is safe and effective, according to an analysis of 3 studies of lisocabtagene maraleucel in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

Diego Villa, MD, MPH, discusses the benefit of bendamustine and rituximab versus R-CHOP in transplant-eligible and -ineligible patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Several clinical trials have found mesenchymal stem cell therapy effective in treating neural damage in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review published in Stem Cell Investigation.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a new drug application for lurbinectedin as a treatment for patients with small cell lung cancer who have progressed following platinum-containing therapy.

The expert explained the rationale for the phase I first-in-human clinical trial evaluating the combination of a gamma-secretase inhibitor and B-cell maturation antigen CAR T-cells in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.

A high body mass index at baseline may be independently associated with improved survival outcomes in patients with non–small cell lung cancer who receive immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Treatment with a CD19-targeted CAR-natural killer–cell therapy led to a 73% objective response rate, including 7 complete responses, in patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a biologics license application for the anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma after at least 2 prior therapies.

The presence of circulating tumor cell was found to be independently associated with relapse in patients with stage III melanoma, suggesting that CTC assessment may be useful in identify patients who are at risk for relapse and could benefit from adjuvant therapy.

The planned trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of the novel multi-tumor associated antigen T-cell therapy in patients with post-transplant acute myeloid leukemia.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a biologics license application for the investigational CAR T-cell therapy KTE-X19 as a treatment for adult patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

The biologic license application is supported by data from the phase II ZUMA-2 trial, which is currently assessing the CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

Based on available data, treatment is not that obvious for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer who are tolerating treatment well and have either a complete or partial response to therapy.

Patients with either relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with CAR NK cells had a response without the development of cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity, or graft-versus-host disease.

Peter Voorhees, MD, provides an overview of the many developments made with CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma, as well as the exciting research being done with bispecific antibodies

Calibr received approval from the FDA to move forward with an investigational new drug to treat relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies with a switchable CAR T-cell therapy.

The data was presented at the EHA-EBMT 2nd European CAR T-Cell Meeting, which took place on January 30, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, and showed encouraging signs of a manageable safety profile in adults with relapsed/refractory DLBCL.

Praveen Ramakrishnan, MD, spotlights some of the exciting data recently presented across the spectrum of non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are a patient’s own, harvested and reengineered to attack specific malignant cells. They were initially developed using knowledge gleaned from allogeneic stem cell transplants: that donor mature immune cells can attack healthy cells in the recipient patient.

The European Medicines Agency has validated and is now evaluating a Marketing Authorization Application for the CAR T-cell therapy KTE-X19 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

Larry Anderson, MD, PhD, discusses emerging therapies for patients with multiple myeloma that were highlighted at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting.