Day 30 SUVmax Predicts Progression in Lymphoma Patients Achieving PR/SD After CAR T-cell Therapy

Patients with D30 PR/SD with subsequent conversion to CR experience similar early outcomes as patients who achieved CR by D30.

SUV_max ≥ 10 may help to identify patients with D30 PR/SD who are at risk for subsequent progression.

About 70% of patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who are treated with axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and who achieve a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) on the day 30 (D30) positron emission tomography (PET)–computed tomography (CT) scan progress; however, the factors that are predictive of progression are unknown. This a retrospective study of patients with LBCL who were treated with axi-cel at MD Anderson Cancer Center between January of 2018 and February of 2021. Among 50 patients with D30 PR/SD, 13 (26%) converted to a complete response (CR). Among 95 patients with a D30 CR, 72 (76%) remained in CR. On univariate analysis, the only day −5 characteristic associated with conversion from D30 PR/SD to subsequent CR was a higher platelet count (P = .05). The only D30 factor associated with conversion from D30 PR/SD to subsequent CR was a lower maximum standardized uptake volume (SUV_max; P < .001); all patients with D30 SUV_max ≥ 10 progressed. After a median follow-up of 12 months, no significant difference in median progression-free survival was observed between patients who converted from D30 PR/SD to subsequent CR and those who had been in CR since D30 (P = .19). Novel predictive and prognostic markers based on tissue biopsy and noninvasive diagnostic assays are needed to more effectively identify these patients and characterize the biology of their residual disease.

CAR T-Cell Therapy for B-Cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Clinical Trials and Real-World Experiences

Chimeric antigen receptor-modified (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 have revolutionized the treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas, and their use has increased the cure rate for these cancers from 10 to 40%. Two second-generation anti-CD19 CAR T-cell products, axicabtagene ciloleucel and tisagenlecleucel, have been approved for use in patients, and the approval of a third product, lisocabtagene maraleucel, is expected in 2020. The commercial availability of the first two products has facilitated the development of real-world experience in treating relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas, shed light on anti-CD19 CAR T-cell products' feasibility in trial-ineligible patients, and raised the need for strategies to mitigate the adverse effects associated with anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, such as cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity, and cytopenia. In addition, promising clinical data supporting the use of anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas or chronic lymphocytic leukemia have recently become available, breaking the paradigm that these conditions are not curable. Multiple clinical CAR T-cell therapy-based trials are ongoing. These include studies comparing CAR T-cell therapy to autologous stem cell transplantation or investigating their use at earlier stages of disease, novel combinations, and novel constructs. Here we provide a thorough review on the use of the anti-CD19 CAR T-cell products axicabtagene ciloleucel, tisagenlecleucel and lisocabtagene maraleucel in patients with indolent or aggressive B-cell lymphoma or with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and present novel CAR T cell-based approaches currently under investigation in these disease settings.