Dr. Park on CD19-Directed CAR T-Cell Therapy in Patients With ALL

Jae Park, MD, hematologist oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the potential of CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

There are still no approved CD19-targeted CAR T-cell products for adult patients with ALL. However, there are many trials that have proven its efficacy in adult patients. The toxicity continues to be more of a challenge in older patients, as their physical reserve is less robust than pediatric patients. Nonetheless, the therapy has been shown to be effective. Once the therapy is modified to optimize the safety profile it is likely to be approved for adult patients with ALL, says Park.

Selecting the right patient population is critical in minimizing the toxicities and maximizing the efficacy. Park and colleagues published data from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in the same issue as the ELIANA trials, showing that relapsed patients with a low disease burden at the time of CD19 CAR T-cell infusion benefit the most from the therapy.