Dr. Chari on Impact of CAR T Cells in Myeloma

Video

Ajai Chari, MD, associate professor of medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses the impact of CAR T-cell therapy in myeloma.

Ajai Chari, MD, associate professor of medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses the impact of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with myeloma.

Recent data with CAR T cells have been very encouraging, particularly with the phase I trial of bb2121 that was presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. In a penta-refractory patient population, median progression-free survival was almost 1 year and overall response rate was 96%. Chari says this is important because these results are being seen with just 1 intervention of CAR T, unlike other treatment strategies that continue over an extended period of time.

Something to keep in mind about CAR T-cell therapy is the toxicity, especially cytokine release syndrome. It is also difficult to compare outcomes with other off-the-shelf treatment options because there is selection bias with patients who enroll for CAR T cells. Other unanswered questions with this treatment are shortening manufacturing time, getting larger patient populations enrolled, and if this therapy can be combined with other treatment.

Recent Videos
Reena Sharma, MD, an adult metabolic consultant at Salford Royal Hospital
Mark Hamilton, MD, PhD, a hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) cell therapy fellow at Stanford University
Barry J Byrne, MD, PhD, the chief medical advisor of MDA and a physician-scientist at the University of Florida
Barry J Byrne, MD, PhD, the chief medical advisor of MDA and a physician-scientist at the University of Florida
Sarah Larson, MD, the medical director of the Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
David Porter, MD, the director of cell therapy and transplant at Penn Medicine
David Porter, MD, the director of cell therapy and transplant at Penn Medicine
Georg Schett, MD, vice president research and chair of internal medicine at the University of Erlangen – Nuremberg
Manali Kamdar, MD, the associate professor of medicine–hematology and clinical director of lymphoma services at the University of Colorado
Manali Kamdar, MD, the associate professor of medicine–hematology and clinical director of lymphoma services at the University of Colorado
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.