As chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies become more widespread, more patients with large B-cell lymphomas are relying on this option after relapse; however, a portion of patients will still progress after CAR T-cell treatment.
A group at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center sought to explore the outcomes of these patients who progress after treatment with CAR T cells. Their retrospective study looked at 55 patients with various B-cell lymphomas who progressed after treatment with CD19-specific CAR T cells. They found that individuals with large B-cell lymphomas who show evidence for early progressive disease after receiving CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy have poor outcomes. This high-risk group of patients represents an unmet need in identifying treatment options following progression, said Victor A. Chow, MD
“We need to be thinking strategically about how to look at the next subsequent treatment for them so hopefully patients will get a sense that once their CAR T cell fails them, we’re not just giving up on them. We’re still trying to think about other options to help prolong or get them back into remission,” Chow said.
In an interview with Targeted Oncology during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, Chow, a senior hematology/oncology fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, highlighted the key takeaways from these study findings and the next steps toward understanding how to treat patients who progress after CAR T-cell therapy.
