Frederick Locke, MD, on the Impact Potential of CAR T-Cell Therapies in Hematologic Malignancies

“I’m really excited about the impact and the potential of CAR T-cell therapies, these are still treatments that can cause toxicity and are still administered in specialized treatment centers, but as we get a better grasp of the risk factors for toxicities and management, we will be able to administer these treatments at more centers closer to patients and where they live."

One focus at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, held June 3-7, 2022, held both virtually and in Chicago, Illinois, was on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, their current impact in different cancers, and further research that remains to be done to improve them.

Melissa Alsina, MD, associate professor of medicine, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, and head, Multiple Myeloma Transplant Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, gave a talk on novel CAR therapies, targets, and approaches in multiple myeloma at ASCO focused on idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) and some investigative therapies.

To gain additional perspective on CAR T-cell therapies in the field, CGTLive spoke with Frederick Locke, MD, the vice-chair of the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy, also of Moffitt Cancer Center, to learn more about the impact potential of CAR T-cell therapies in hematologic malignancies. He discussed positive outcomes seen so far with CAR T-cell therapies, including tisa-cel, liso-cel, ide-cel, cilta-cel, and brexu-cel.

REFERENCE

Alsina M. The road not yet taken: Novel CARS and newer horizons. Presented at: 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 3-7, 2022.