This abstract reports on the treatment of 15 patients with anti-CD19 CAR-expressing T cells, all of whom had advanced B cell malignancies, and eight of whom had large B cell lymphomas.  

This is the first report of successful treatment in patients with chemotherapy-refractory primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. In the trial, the 15 adult patients with varying types of lymphoma or leukaemia received an infusion of their own genetically modified T cells following a chemotherapy conditioning regimen of cyclosphamide and fludarabine.

Six patients achieved complete remission and six achieved partial remission. Acute toxicities such as fever, low blood pressure, focal neurologic deficits, and delirium resolved in less than three weeks.

“Our data provide the first true glimpse of the potential of this approach in patients with aggressive lymphomas that, until this point, were virtually untreatable,” said study author James Kochenderfer, MD, of the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

“We are particularly encouraged by the partial and complete responses that we observed in a number of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphomas who had exhausted all other treatment options. This approach offers an option for patients with chemotherapy-refractory large B cell lymphomas who are not generally thought to be good candidates for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This approach is still an early-stage experimental therapy, and we will continue our research to further improve the protocol and evaluate its value in additional patients with treatment-resistant disease.”

Source: ASH