Dr David L. Porter Explains Variations in CAR-T Cell Trial Criteria

The criteria to enroll cancer patients in a clinical trial of CAR-T cells vary according to their disease, past therapy, and how far along they are in different treatments, said David L. Porter, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Transcript (slightly modified)

What are the criteria to enroll patients in a CAR-T cells clinical trial?

So there are a number of different CAR-T cells trials, and the criteria vary according to the patient’s disease, the actual trial that is ongoing. Right now, most CAR-T cells trials are really in the early- to mid-stage of development, and it is primarily for patients who have advanced disease who have largely been through many other different therapies and they’re not working. So it’s for patients who are running out of treatment options.

That said, we’ve been doing this now for, gosh, over 6 years, and have learned a lot more about where it’s effective, when it works, when it might not work, and in fact what a lot of the side effects are and how to manage them. Now that we know that, and we understand the side effects and the safety issues, some of the trials are starting to treat patients earlier in the course of their disease. And the criteria there are obviously very different, they’re not just for somebody who’s failed every other treatment.

So it really will vary according to somebody’s past therapy, it will vary according to their disease, and how far along they are in the different treatments.