Long-term survival and immune reconstitution of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for childhood molecular relapse of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Measurable residual disease (MRD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an independent risk factor for relapse in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study aimed to assess the efficacy, safety, and immune reconstitution of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy in patients with molecular relapse after allo-HSCT. Eleven patients with molecular relapse of B-cell-ALL who underwent CAR-T therapy after allo-HSCT were enrolled. The rate of MRD negativity after a month of CAR-T infusion was 81.8%. Patients who bridged to second-HSCT after CAR-T therapy (n = 3) showed a trend of higher 3-year leukemia-free survival and 3-year overall survival than those who did not (n = 8; 100% vs. 75.0%; 95% CI, 45.0–104.9%; P = 0.370). No treatment-related mortalities were observed. Among patients who did not bridge to second-HSCT and remained in complete remission until the last follow-up (n = 6), five of them had not recovered normal immunoglobulin concentrations with a median follow-up of 43 months. CAR-T therapy may be a safe and effective treatment strategy to improve survival after allo-HSCT; however, the problem of prolonged hypogammaglobulinemia in patients who do not bridge to second-HSCT is worth noting.