Dr. Prockop Discusses Tabelecleucel in Post-Transplant EBV+ Lymphomas

Susan E. Prockop, MD, pediatric oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses tabelecleucel in patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated post-transplant lymphomas.

Patients with monoclonal EBV-positive post-transplant lymphoma disorders who fail rituximab (Rituxan) therapy have limited options for treatment. In a study of the long-term outcomes of patients with rituximab-refractory, post-transplant, EBV-positive lymphomas treated with tabelecleucel, responses proved to be durable. Tabelecleucel is an off-the-shelf T cell immunotherapy of allogeneic third-party EBV-targeted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that are selective for the tumor-associated antigen expressed by EBV.

There are 3 important factors of these findings, says Prockop. First, is the ease of the therapy. This therapy is associated with very few toxicities, and is well tolerated. Second, while it is an off-the-shelf therapy, it is a personalized therapy—the T cells are selected based on a patient’s disease. Third, tabelecleucel has a diverse bank of CTLs, allowing patients to be switched from one product to another if they are not responding. This is done by switching to an alternative T cell line, Prockop explains.