Dr. Leonard on Emergence of CAR T-cell Therapy in Hematologic Cancers

John P. Leonard, MD, associate dean of Clinical Research, interim chair of the Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses the emergence and potential of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy across hematologic malignancies.

Much of the encouragement with CAR T-cell therapy has been observed in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Leonard explains. There are a lot of data approaching in some of the hard-to-treat lymphomas, particularly resistant diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Additionally, there are patients who have had excellent responses that seem to be durable.

However, the biggest challenge currently with this treatment is patient selection, he says. There are patients who will not be candidates for CAR T-cel therapy because of age, comorbidities, and aggressive disease. Ultimately, it will come down to how many patients benefit and how durable will the responses be.