Park JH, et al. - An investigation was pursued regarding the long-term follow-up of CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy among patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Findings reported that the median overall survival was 12.9 months. The median overall survival was determined to be 20.1 months among patients with a low disease burden. It was accompanied by a substantially lower incidence of the cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxic events following 19-28z CAR T-cell infusion therapy when compared to patients with a higher disease burden.

Methods

• The eligible candidates included adults with relapsed B-cell ALL who received an infusion of autologous T cells expressing the 19-28z CAR at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
• Experts contemplated the safety and long-term outcomes of this therapy along with their correlations with the demographic, clinical and disease characteristics.

Results

• During this trial, 53 candidates received 19-28z CAR T cells that were manufactured at MSKCC.
• The occurrence of severe cytokine release syndrome was noted in 14 of 53 patients (26%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15 to 40) following infusion; 1 patient died.
• As per findings, 83% of the patients presented with complete remission.
• The median event-free survival was determined to be 6.1 months (95% CI, 5.0 to 11.5), and the median overall survival was 12.9 months (95% CI, 8.7 to 23.4) at a median follow-up of 29 months (range, 1 to 65).
• Substantially enhanced remission duration and survival was brought to light, along with a median event-free survival of 10.6 months (95% CI, 5.9 to not reached) and a median overall survival of 20.1 months (95% CI, 8.7 to not reached) in patients with a low disease burden (<5% bone marrow blasts) before treatment.
• It was disclosed that candidates with a higher burden of disease (≥5% bone marrow blasts or extramedullary disease) presented with a greater incidence of the cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxic events and shorter long-term survival when compared to the patients with a low disease burden.