CAR-T Therapy for Refractory or Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Thursday, August 31, 2017
In a Chinese study, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy led to responses in 100% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to research presented by Wanhong Zhao, MD, PhD, of Xi’an Jiaotong University in China, at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA3001). Of the 74% of patients who achieved stringent complete responses, none have relapsed.
The investigators utilized LCAR-B38M, a novel CAR T-cell product that principally targets the B-cell maturation antigen. In this single-arm clinical trial, 19 patients with refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma received three infusions of LCAR-B38M over 6 days, subsequent to a conditioning chemotherapy regimen.
Of the 19 patients who completed the infusion, 14 had a stringent complete response, 4 (21%) achieved a very good partial response, and 1 (5%) had a partial response, for an overall response rate of 100%. Ninety-five percent of the patients reached a complete response or near-complete response without a single event of relapse in a median follow-up of 6 months.
As for toxicity, Dr. Zhao revealed in an interview with The ASCO Post: “Unlike what’s seen with other CAR T cells, we saw no signs of neurotoxicity and less cytokine-release syndrome than seen with other constructs.”
The investigators are planning a U.S. trial of this CAR T-cell therapy.
