Monalisa Ghosh, MD, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan, discusses the role of off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy in patients with multiple myeloma.

These products are promising in many ways and provide several advantages, including a decreased manufacturing time, Ghosh says. Experts in the field can request and receive off-the-shelf CAR T-cell products from a bank, she explains. This eliminates the need to wait for patient cell collection, which puts the patient at some degree of risk, and decreases the manufacturing time that ordinarily takes several weeks. The decreased treatment timeline can also be beneficial to patients with rapidly progressive disease, Ghosh notes.

However, challenges exist with this therapy, as allogenic cells may cause certain adverse effects, such as a graft-versus-host reaction that is similar to reactions observed with stem cell transplantation, Ghosh says. Currently, certain methods of T-cell receptor engineering may be able to mitigate this risk, she adds. Additionally, some hosts may reject the cells, a possibility that has been observed in early studies, wherein cells have not demonstrated long-term persistence. It may be possible to overcome this through multiple cell infusions, Ghosh notes.

Overall, the accessibility of off-the-shelf CAR T-cell products to a large group of patients with multiple myeloma appears promising, Ghosh concludes.

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Monalisa Ghosh, MD, discusses the role of off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy in patients with multiple myeloma.

Dr. Ghosh on the Role of Off-the-Shelf CAR T-Cell Therapy in Myeloma

Monalisa Ghosh, MD, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan, discusses the role ofidecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel;Abecma) in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma landscape.

 helped to add another tool to treat this patient population, which is a development has been largely beneficial, Ghosh says. For many patients, multiple myeloma is a chronic cancer without many treatment options in the relapsed/refractory setting, she adds.

Currently, there are many new experimental therapies in development for this patient population, and healthcare providers must figure out where CAR T-cell therapy fits into the landscape, as well as how to sequence it with other treatments, Ghosh says. Ongoing studies are examining CAR T-cell therapies earlier in the treatment course, as well as in different populations of patients with multiple myeloma, Ghosh notes. As of yet, it is not known how ide-cel could fit into the treatment lineup for myeloma, Ghosh concludes.

Monalisa Ghosh, MD, discusses the role of idecabtagene vicleucel in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma landscape.


Dr. Ghosh on the Role of Ide-Cel in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Monalisa Ghosh, MD, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan, discusses the impact of idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

 based on the pivotal phase 2 KarMMA trial (NCT03361748), which studied the first BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The KarMMA trial featured an efficacy-evaluable population of 100 patients, according to Ghosh. Moreover, patients had received 4 or more prior lines of therapy. 

The trial was important, as it took a population of patients without many treatment options and provided a new promising prospect for therapy, Ghosh concludes.

Monalisa Ghosh, MD, discusses the impact of idecabtagene vicleucel in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.



Monalisa Ghosh, MD

Articles

Dr. Ghosh on the Role of Off-the-Shelf CAR T-Cell Therapy in Myeloma

Dr. Ghosh on the Role of Ide-Cel in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Dr. Ghosh on the Impact of Ide-Cel in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma