Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, hematologist/medical oncologist and assistant professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego Health, discusses the likelihood of cure with CAR-T cell therapy in lymphoma.

According to Tzachanis, it is difficult to definitively say that a patient is cured from their cancer.

However, since diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia are fast-growing diseases, patients who derive at least 2-year remissions with CAR T-cell therapy may be effectively cured, concludes Tzachanis.

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Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, discusses the likelihood of cure with CAR-T cell therapy in lymphoma.



Dr. Tzachanis on the Likelihood of Cure With CAR T-Cell Therapy in Lymphoma

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, hematologist/medical oncologist and assistant professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego Health, discusses research regarding post——CAR T-cell therapy progression in lymphoma.

Patients with lymphoma who progress on CAR T-cell therapy typically have poor outcomes, says Tzachanis.

At the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting, data from the multicenter phase I/Ib GO29781 study showed that the CD3- and CD20-targeted bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab elicited durable responses in patients with highly refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Moreover, the complete remission rate among patients who had previously received CAR T-cell therapy was 22.2%.

Apart from bispecific antibodies, which have shown early efficacy in this space, allogeneic stem cell transplant could also be considered if the disease is under control, concludes Tzachanis.

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, discusses research regarding post–CAR T-cell therapy progression in lymphoma.

Dr. Tzachanis on Research Regarding Post-CAR T-Cell Therapy Progression in Lymphoma

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, hematologist/medical oncologist and assistant professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego Health, discusses data with lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) in large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), as well as the differences between axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah).

Data from the phase I TRANSCEND NHL 001 study showed that liso-cel led to an objective response rate of 73% and a complete response rate of 53% in patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL who received ≥2 prior therapies. The CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy can cause cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity, similar to axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel. However, these agents have never been compared side by side, making it hard to draw any conclusions about which product might be more effective or toxic, says Tzachanis. 

There are fewer production problems with axi-cel as well, so it may be recommended over tisagenlecleucel when availability is a concern. However, the decision between axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel also depends on institutional experience, concludes Tzachanis.

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD, discusses data with lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) in large B-cell lymphoma, as well as the differences between axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah).

Dimitrios Tzachanis, MD, PhD

Articles

Dr. Tzachanis on the Likelihood of Cure With CAR T-Cell Therapy in Lymphoma

Dr. Tzachanis on Research Regarding Post-CAR T-Cell Therapy Progression in Lymphoma

Dr. Tzachanis on Data With Lisocabtagene Maraleucel in Lymphoma