Advanced Numerous Myeloma Patients Seen to Achieve Lasting Remission with CAR T-cell Therapy
Fresh CAR T-cell Therapy Seen to Induce Lasting Remission in Advanced Numerous Myeloma Patients
An ongoing Phase one trial testing a novel CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising results in relapsed or treatment-resistant (refractory) numerous myeloma patients. The fresh anti-BCMA therapy, called LCAR-B38M, induced tumor responses in all thirty five enrolled patients, and ninety four percent experienced accomplish or near accomplish durable remissions.
The findings were recently introduced by researchers from The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, at the two thousand seventeen American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
“It shows up that with this novel immunotherapy there may be a chance for cure in numerous myeloma, but we will need to go after patients much longer to confirm that,” Wanhong Zhao, MD, PhD, a explore author and an associate director of hematology, said in a press release.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a tailored strategy against cancer. It consists in collecting T-cells from the blood of patients and genetically engineer them to produce special receptors, called CARs, at their surface.
CARs are proteins that permit T-cells to recognize a specific protein (antigen) that is very produced by tumor cells. In the laboratory, these engineered CAR T-cells are then grown into the billions and injected back into the patient, where they can exert their anti-tumor effects.
Several initial trials have shown the high efficiency of CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19, a B-cell biomarker, against acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and some types of lymphoma. However, CAR T-cell therapies developed to target biomarkers for other types of cancer has been unsuccessful. This clinical trial is the very first for CAR T-cells targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), identified in two thousand four to have a role in numerous myeloma progression.
This ongoing Phase one clinical trial, taking place in China, enrolled thirty five patients with relapsed or refractory numerous myeloma, who received three split doses of anti-BCMA CAR T-cells over a week.
The very first signs of treatment efficacy came ten days after initial injection. Within two months of receiving the engineered cells, all thirty five patients had responded to the treatment, a 100% objective response rate. Thirty-three patients (94%) had evident clinical remission, deemed as a accomplish response or very good partial response.
So far, nineteen patients were followed for more than four months, fourteen of whom achieved a stringent accomplish response (sCR), thought to be a more profound response than a finish response. One other patient achieved a partial response, and four others met efficacy criteria for a very good partial remission (VgPR).
Importantly, patients who achieved sCR did not relapse. Five of them were followed for more than a year (12–14 months) and all remained in sCR, without detectable cancer cells in the bone marrow, i.e., without evidence of minimal residual disease.
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a common but potentially dangerous side effect of immunotherapies, was observed transiently in eighty five percent of the patients. However, the majority experienced only mild and manageable symptoms. Only two patients experienced Grade three CRS, but recovered following treatment with Actemra (tocilizumab).
“In early two thousand eighteen we also plan to launch a similar clinical trial in the United States. Looking ahead, we would also like to explore whether BCMA CAR T-cell therapy benefits patients who are freshly diagnosed with numerous myeloma,” Zhao said.
Advanced Numerous Myeloma Patients Seen to Achieve Lasting Remission with CAR T-cell Therapy
Fresh CAR T-cell Therapy Seen to Induce Lasting Remission in Advanced Numerous Myeloma Patients
An ongoing Phase one trial testing a novel CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising results in relapsed or treatment-resistant (refractory) numerous myeloma patients. The fresh anti-BCMA therapy, called LCAR-B38M, induced tumor responses in all thirty five enrolled patients, and ninety four percent experienced finish or near accomplish durable remissions.
The findings were recently introduced by researchers from The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, at the two thousand seventeen American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
“It emerges that with this novel immunotherapy there may be a chance for cure in numerous myeloma, but we will need to go after patients much longer to confirm that,” Wanhong Zhao, MD, PhD, a examine author and an associate director of hematology, said in a press release.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a tailored strategy against cancer. It consists in collecting T-cells from the blood of patients and genetically engineer them to produce special receptors, called CARs, at their surface.
CARs are proteins that permit T-cells to recognize a specific protein (antigen) that is very produced by tumor cells. In the laboratory, these engineered CAR T-cells are then grown into the billions and injected back into the patient, where they can exert their anti-tumor effects.
Several initial trials have shown the high efficiency of CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19, a B-cell biomarker, against acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and some types of lymphoma. However, CAR T-cell therapies developed to target biomarkers for other types of cancer has been unsuccessful. This clinical trial is the very first for CAR T-cells targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), identified in two thousand four to have a role in numerous myeloma progression.
This ongoing Phase one clinical trial, taking place in China, enrolled thirty five patients with relapsed or refractory numerous myeloma, who received three split doses of anti-BCMA CAR T-cells over a week.
The very first signs of treatment efficacy came ten days after initial injection. Within two months of receiving the engineered cells, all thirty five patients had responded to the treatment, a 100% objective response rate. Thirty-three patients (94%) had evident clinical remission, deemed as a finish response or very good partial response.
So far, nineteen patients were followed for more than four months, fourteen of whom achieved a stringent finish response (sCR), thought to be a more profound response than a finish response. One other patient achieved a partial response, and four others met efficacy criteria for a very good partial remission (VgPR).
Importantly, patients who achieved sCR did not relapse. Five of them were followed for more than a year (12–14 months) and all remained in sCR, without detectable cancer cells in the bone marrow, i.e., without evidence of minimal residual disease.
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a common but potentially dangerous side effect of immunotherapies, was observed transiently in eighty five percent of the patients. However, the majority experienced only mild and manageable symptoms. Only two patients experienced Grade three CRS, but recovered following treatment with Actemra (tocilizumab).
“In early two thousand eighteen we also plan to launch a similar clinical trial in the United States. Looking ahead, we would also like to explore whether BCMA CAR T-cell therapy benefits patients who are freshly diagnosed with numerous myeloma,” Zhao said.
