Dr. Abramson on the TRANSCEND NHL 001 Trial in Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Jeremy S. Abramson, MD, director, Jon and JoAnn Hagler Center for Lymphoma, Massachusetts General Hospital, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the results of the multicenter phase I TRANSCEND NHL 001 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso cel) in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

Among 268 patients treated with liso-cel, 255 were evaluable for efficacy. The overall response rate was 73% (95% CI, 67‒78), and the complete response (CR) rate was 53% (95% CI, 47‒59).

At a median follow-up of 10.8 months, the median duration of response (DOR) was 13.3 months (95% CI, 8.2‒not reached [NR]) in the general population. The median DOR was not reached in patients who achieved CR (13.3‒NR). Additionally, the median progression-free survival was 6.8 months (95% CI, 3.3‒11.8), and the median overall survival was 19.9 months (95% CI, 10.9‒NR).

Liso-cel was generally well tolerated among patients, says Abramson. A safety analysis showed 79% of patients experienced grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events, and 42% of patients experienced any grade cytokine release syndrome (CRS).

Nineteen percent of patients received tocilizumab (Actemra) and 21% received corticosteroids for CRS/neurologic events.

Overall, liso-cel elicited an unprecedented rate of durable CRs with low rates of severe toxicity, concludes Abramson.