Dr. Zonder on the ZUMA-2 and ZUMA-5 Trials in MCL and iNHL

Jeffrey Zonder, MD, professor of hematology-oncology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, discusses the ZUMA-2 trial in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and the ZUMA-5 trial in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL).

The phase 2 ZUMA-2 trial evaluated brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) in patients with relapsed/refractory MCL who received up to 5 prior lines of therapy. Almost all patients had received prior anthracycline or bendamustine, and 100% of patients had received a prior anti-CD20 antibody and BTK inhibitor treatment with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) or acalabrutinib (Calquence).

The ​phase 2 ZUMA-5 trial evaluated axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) in patients with relapsed/refractory, low-grade, iNHL,including follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma, that has progressed after at least 2 lines of treatment, says Zonder. 

Although these studies used different CD19-directed CAR T-cell products, they both demonstrated high response rates in patients who had received multiple prior lines of therapy. Moreover, the majority of patients who achieved a complete response experienced durable response, Zonder concludes.