CD19 CAR T-Cell Agent Shows Promise for Patients With MCL

Lori A. Leslie, MD, assistant professor, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, director, Indolent Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Programs, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the impact brexucabtagene autoleucel (formerly KTE-X19; Tecartus) has had on the treatment landscape for patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The CD19 autologous T-cell product was approved for patients with relapsed/ refractory MCL who had been previously exposed to chemoimmunotherapy and bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). The approval was based on the ZUMA-2 study (NCT02601313) within this patient population.

Findings showed the high-risk patient population to demonstrate high overall response rates which ranged above 90% and 67% of patients to achieve a complete response.

At a follow-up of 12.5 months, 78% of patients who responded remained in complete response showing a positive and promising change in the landscape for these patients.

Transcription:

0:08 | Brexucabtagene autoleucel is a CD19 autologous T-cell product that is approved in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma. It has really helped start to change the treatment landscape for these patients. It was approved based on the ZUMA-2 study which looked at patients with relapsed refractory mantle cell lymphoma who had been exposed to chemoimmunotherapy and a bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor. All patients had to be BTK exposed, and it was a really high-risk group of patients.

0:40 | About a third of patients had very advanced blastoid mantle cell lymphoma, 88% of the patients were actively relapsing through their BTK inhibitor, which we know is a high-risk patient population with poor outcomes that really don't respond well to subsequent line of therapy. In this high-risk population, there were very high overall response rates for a single infusion of brexucabtagene autoleucel CD19 CAR T-cell, the other name is KTE-X19, with an overall response rate above 90 at 93% and 67% of patients achieving a complete remission.

1:15 | With mantle cell lymphoma, treatment is more of a marathon such that these patients can relapse later. With the follow up, which was at a median of just over a year, 12.5 months, very remarkably, 78% of patients who responded remained in complete response. This is a very promising therapy that's given a 1 and done type of approach for high-risk patient population and responses seem to be durable. It really has changed the landscape for these patients with mantle cell lymphoma.