Flexible CAR-T Monitoring Period Could Help With Post-Treatment Barriers

In the seven years since the approval of the first chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, the agents have proved to be effective in the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But the one-time-use agents come with risks, including the potentially fatal cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), so the FDA requires patients remain near their treatment center for four weeks after administration, which can be onerous for patients. But a recent study finds that side effects were rare after the first two weeks post-infusion, perhaps helping lead to less of a burden for patients.

An article in Blood Advances, a journal of the American Society of Hematology, revealed the findings of a retrospective study of 475 patients who received three CD19-directed CAR-Ts at nine different centers: Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) from Gilead Sciences Inc. subsidiary Kite Pharma, Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) from Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol Myers Squibb company.