Dr. Schuster Dicsusses CAR T-Cell Therapy in DLBCL

Stephen J. Schuster, MD, professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, discusses chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The primary analysis of the phase II global JULIET study was presented at the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting. This study assessed tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) in adult patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, demonstrating an overall response rate of 53.1%. Tisagenlecleucel is currently approved for the treatment of patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory or in second or later relapse.

Schuster says that the results that lead to the FDA approval of tisagenlecleucel in ALL inspired him to look at the CAR T-cell therapy in patients with DLBCL. About one-third of patients with DLBCL have no chance of remission with the currently available therapies, so Schuster hopes that this unmet need can be resolved with CAR T-cell therapy.