CAR T-cell therapy dubbed ‘promising’ for MM

Patient 11, who achieved the ongoing partial response, had received 5 prior lines of therapy. MM made up 80% of his bone marrow cells at baseline.

The patient experienced a rapid decrease in markers of MM after CAR-BCMA T-cell infusion, and his M protein levels continue to decrease.

Patient 11 also experienced fever, tachycardia, hypotension, acute kidney injury, dyspnea, delirium, and prolonged thrombocytopenia, but all of these toxicities have resolved completely.

Dr Kochenderfer noted that patients who had significant responses (Patients 8, 10, and 11) had the highest blood levels of CAR-BCMA T cells. They also had the most severe clinical signs of cytokine release syndrome and much higher serum levels of IL-6 than the other patients.

“We have demonstrated, for the first time, that CAR T cells can have powerful activity against measurable myeloma,” Dr Kochenderfer said in closing. “Anti-BCMA CAR T cells are a promising therapy for multiple myeloma.”