CAR T-Cell Therapy

The FDA has granted P-BCMA-101 with an orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma.

A discussion between regulators and special interest groups has cooled some of the excitement generated by the emergence of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for treating hematologic cancers.

Frederick L. Locke, MD, discusses how chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have evolved over the last 30 years of research in the field of hematologic malignancies.

The success of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy observed in hematologic malignancies has not yet translated into the solid tumor setting; however, efforts continue to try to bring this new modality into the treatment paradigm for solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer. 

In data presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, bispecific T-cell engager antibody constructs demonstrated encouraging activity in patients with multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia.

According to results from a small clinical study, checkpoint&nbsp;inhibitors in combination with&nbsp;chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy showed promise for improving CAR T-cell persistance in some patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

Patients with&nbsp;acute lymphoblastic leukemia saw a reduction in the risk for recurrence after receiving a stem cell transplant for the first time following treatment with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

According to a retrospective phase I/II study, over 80% of patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia responded to concurrent treatment with ibrutinib and the CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor CAR T-cell therapy, JCAR014.¹ Findings from this study were presented at&nbsp;the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.

Findings, presented at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting, demonstrated that an off-the-shelf, dual-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell approach found positive results in preclinical&nbsp;specificity, functionality, and efficacy studies.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy with bb2121 demonstrated an objective response rate of 94% in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to findings from a dose-escalation study. The senior study author, James N. Kochenderfer, MD, presented updated findings from the study during the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting, and commented that 89% of patients had a very good partial response or better, and 56% of patients had a complete remission.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;