Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR-T) therapy may represent a potential treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, a study suggests. Multiple myeloma is a common cancer affecting white blood cells called plasma cells. Patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma face a poor prognosis. In a Phase 1 clinical trial of 17 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, Zhu Chen, Xiao-Hu Fan, Jian Hou, Jian-Yong Li, Jian-Qing Mi, Sai-Juan Chen, and colleagues evaluated the safety and efficacy of CAR-T therapy, in which a patient's own T cells are taken from the blood, genetically engineered to produce tumor-targeting proteins called CARs on their surface and grown to large numbers in the laboratory, and intravenously infused back into the patient. The authors tested a CAR-T therapy called LCARB38M, which targets the B-cell maturation antigen, a protein commonly expressed at high levels on the surface of malignant plasma cells. The overall response rate was 88.2%; 13 patients achieved a stringent complete response, two patients achieved a partial response, one patient was a nonresponder, and one patient died due to a severe toxic reaction. After a median follow-up of 417 days, eight patients continued to show a response, whereas six patients relapsed and one patient experienced disease progression. Most of the adverse effects were clinically manageable, and the findings suggest that LCARB38M may represent a potential therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to the authors.
###
Article #18-19745: "Exploratory trial of a biepitopic CAR T-targeting B cell maturation antigen in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma," by Jie Xu et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Zhu Chen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, CHINA; tel: 86-21-3356-2658; e-mail: < zchen@stn.sh.cn >; Xiao-Hu (Frank) Fan, Nanjing Legend Biotech., Nanjing, CHINA; e-mail: < Frank.fan@legendbiotech.com >; Jian Hou, Changzheng Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, CHINA; e-mail: < houjian@medmail.com.cn >; Jian-Yong Li, 1st Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, CHINA; e-mail: < lijianyonglm@medmail.com.cn >; Jian-Qing Mi, Rui Jin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, CHINA; e-mail: < jianqingmi@shsmu.edu.cn >; Sai-Juan Chen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, CHINA; tel: 86-21-64370045; e-mail: < sjchen@stn.sh.cn >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences