Dr. Baljevic on the Current Limitations of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Multiple Myeloma

Muhamed Baljevic, MD, assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Oncology and Hematology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses the current limitations of CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma.

In the clinical trials evaluating CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma, some patients who underwent apheresis and CAR T-cell collection were unable to receive the treatment because their disease was too aggressive and dynamic, Baljevic says. Even with bridging therapy, these patients were unable to wait the 4 to 5 weeks required to generate the CAR T-cell therapy.

Additionally, a significantly number of patients were not referred for CAR T-cell therapy because they lived too far away from an academic center that offers the treatment, Baljevic explains. These patients, as well as older patients and those with poor performance statuses, represent a population with unmet need for CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma.

However, emerging constructs that have been optimized to be potentially safer and more effective could have clinical utility in these patient populations, Baljevic concludes.