Real-World Efficacy of Brexucabtagene Autoleucel in Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Michael Wang, MD, professor in the Department of Lymphoma & Myeloma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the real-world efficacy of brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus), the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

According to Wang, while no solid data exists, the efficacy seen in patients treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center is similar to that observed in the study. Additionally, when the study was completed approximately 5 years ago, there was not much available to combat cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. Over the past 5 years, both the number of agents and knowledge on how to treat these adverse events have grown.

However, according to Wang, it is important to keep in mind that CAR T-cell therapy is still relatively new, and complications can still be life threatening. It is important to balance toxicity with getting the patient to remission using the therapy.

0:08 | Without any solid data, among the patients that have been treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center, we feel the efficacy is relatively the same. And of course, the study was conducted several years ago, even some 5 years ago and then we did not have so much therapy, knowledge or skills, or drug agents to combat cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity, and B-cell aplasia infections. Now, 5 years later, we have more agents, knowledge and comprehension on how to manage the toxicities. I feel that toxicity is much easier these days because we are better equipped. However, you can never let your guard down because CAR T-cell therapy is still relatively new, and the complications can still be life-threatening at times. While we enjoy our knowledge and skills to manage the disease, we continue to pay attention to patients’ symptoms and get them better. We not only want to protect them from toxicities but also get them into remission using CAR T cells.