Jae Park, MD, discusses adverse events associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, such as neurotoxicity, for patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia.
Jae Park, MD, a hematologist oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses adverse events associated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, such as neurotoxicity, for patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
Park says that investigators are looking into how to reduce the risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity in adult patients with ALL. The clinical development of CAR T-cell therapy for adults has been slower than in pediatric patients because of the risk of these toxicities since older adult patients have poor tolerability of severe CRS and neurotoxicity.
Researchers for clinical trials are trying to improve the currently available CAR T-cell therapy in ongoing studies. They want to mitigate or completely prevent neurotoxicity and CRS by targeting interleukin-1 receptor inhibitors or JAK inhibitors such as upadacitinib (Rinvoq), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor antibody, or early intervention with a corticosteroid. The ultimate goal is to deliver a safer treatment to adult patients with ALL by exploring these different options, according to Park.