Dr. Shaughnessy on the Promise of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Hematologic Malignancies

Paul J. Shaughnessy, MD, hematologist, oncologist, and medical director of Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, at the Methodist Hospital, discusses the promising future of CAR T-cell therapy in relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies.

Patients with relapsed/refractory disease have always been a difficult-to-treat patient population, says Shaughnessy, who adds that it may be beneficial to move effective therapies into earlier-line settings.

To date, ongoing randomized studies are comparing the safety and efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy with other standards of care in both non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Many are hopeful that, over time, these trials will transform the armamentarium in hematologic oncology, allowing patients to be treated more effectively with fewer adverse effects, Shaughnessy concludes.