Dr. Goy on the Utility of Axi-Cel and Brexu-Cel in Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Andre H. Goy, MD, physician in chief, Hackensack Meridian Health Oncology Care Transformation Service; chairman & chief physician officer, John Theurer Cancer Center; Lydia Pfund Chair for Lymphoma, Academic Chairman Oncology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine; and professor of medicine, Georgetown University, discusses the clinical data reported with axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and real-world findings with brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel; Tecartus) in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The data from extended follow-up of the phase 2 ZUMA-5 trial (NCT03105336) showed that axi-cel elicited an overall response rate (ORR) of 94% and a complete response (CR) rate of 79% in patients with follicular lymphoma. The CAR T-cell therapy also induced an ORR of 83% and a CR rate of 63% in those with marginal zone lymphoma. Among all patients with indolent NHL, the ORR with axi-cel was 92%, with a CR rate of 75%. These responses were maintained over time, Goy says.

Furthermore, a real-world analysis investigated the use of brexu-cel in patients with MCL. This analysis added to the data from the ZUMA-5 trial by examining a different CAR T-cell therapy, brexu-cel, which is significant according to Goy, because patients who are put onto clinical trials are selected to a certain degree.

Patients with MCL are generally older, and they typically present with more comorbidities and more aggressive disease, Goy says. The real-world data reported with brexu-cel, showed a similar ORR, CR rate, duration of response, durability, and toxicity compared with what has been observed in clinical trials, Goy adds. These data are encouraging for expanding the platform of cell therapy, Goy concludes.