CAR T Therapy as a New Option in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Michael R. Bishop, MD

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OncLive spoke with Michael R. Bishop, MD, hematological oncologist, professor of Medicine, and director, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program, University of Chicago Medicine, to learn more about chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells therapy in non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Bishop discussed how CAR T cells provide another option for patients with mantel cell lymphoma and yield a higher stable remission rate in this indication compared to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Sustained complete remissions without any further therapy have also been observed, but questions remain around sustainability and long-term data.

Results are still pending in indolent lymphomas such as follicular lymphoma. However, according to Bishop, initial results are encouraging. Trial results are expected in the end of 2021. In terms of multiple myeloma, duration of responses have not been as high as in lymphomas, but are improving overtime.

0:08 | It provides an additional option. There's lots of options for mantle cell lymphoma, but the CAR T-cell results had a higher response rate. And a significant proportion entering into stable remission are higher than what we've seen in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The long-term data is yet to be determined, and rather relative to the impact on their natural history, but there are sustained complete remissions without any further therapy and we just got to see how long those are going to last.

0:46 | And we are waiting for additional results in other forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly in indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma, the initial results are extremely encouraging. We now have some additional info when you consider chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma, we do consider that to be initially encouraging results. So, we're going have these trials available to us, the results of that, within this year. And then finally, coming back to multiple myeloma, as I mentioned, we're going to have our first approved product, what we expect to be commercially available in March of this year, and a number of trials that are highly exciting variations on the approaches in terms of what targets and dual targeting and, and different receptors. And these results have been highly exciting in terms of very, very high response rates. I think the disappointing aspect of multiple myeloma, we aren't seeing the sustained remissions that we're observing in leukemias and lymphomas, but we are seeing improvement across protocols over time. So, I think it's an exciting time for patients to have these various options.