Dr. Hill on Next Steps for Research Exploring CAR T-Cell Therapy in MCL

Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD, director of the Lymphoid Malignancies Program and staff physician at Taussig Cancer Institute, as well as an assistant professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses next steps for research examining CAR T-cell therapy in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Two questions regarding the use of CAR T-cell therapy in MCL involve moving the therapy up into earlier lines of treatment and using it in combination with other agents, says Hill. Thus far, there have been no compelling reasons to combine other therapies with CAR T-cell treatment for lymphoma, Hill explains. However, studies are looking into this concept, adds Hill.

In terms of using CAR T-cell therapy in earlier lines of treatment, many ongoing discussions are focused on examining the use this approach in certain populations with high-risk disease, according to Hill. These populations include those with TP53 mutations or a blastoid variant of MCL, a subtype that has historically yielded particularly poor outcomes with traditional chemotherapy and high-dose chemotherapy, as is used in autologous stem cell transplant, concludes Hill.