
Kite's CAR-T Therapy Produces Durable Remission in DLBCL, Study Finds
A study on long-term remission of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) shows that Kite Pharma’s anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell treatment resulted in remission for up to 56 months.
A study on long-term remission of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) shows that Kite Pharma’s anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell treatment resulted in remission for up to 56 months.
The research, to be
At the time of publication, these 4 patients had achieved CRs of 56, 51, 44, and 38 months’ duration, and none had relapsed.
“We are encouraged to see durable CRs ongoing for more than 3 years, which raises a possibility of cure, from a single infusion of anti-CD19 CAR-T cells in patients with chemorefractory DLBCL, a population that previously had no curative treatment options,” said Kite’s chief medical officer, David Chang, MD, PhD, in
The trial, which was led by researchers from the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research, found a low incidence of severe infections due to the CAR-T therapy “despite long periods of B-cell depletion and hypogammaglobulinemia.” Among the 4 patients who achieved long-term CR, only 1 was hospitalized for an infection.
CAR-T therapy works by killing malignant and normal B cells, but the study found that remission continued in 3 of 4 patients with CR even after recovery of non-malignant B cells. This “demonstrated that remissions of DLBCL can continue after disappearance of functionally-effective anti-CD19 CAR T-cell populations,” the researchers wrote.
The study was a follow-up to
Drug developers appear to have taken that encouragement to heart, as CAR-T therapies have emerged as a potential game-changer in the immunotherapy landscape. Recently, the FDA’s Oncologic Advisory Committee
In May 2017, Kite’s CAR-T therapy
“This study helps us to understand the long-term potential for this anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in the larger aggressive NHL patient population,” said Chang in the statement.
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