Safety of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy in Elderly Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract

Background Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) is an autologous CD19-specific CAR T-cell therapy product that was FDA approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy. In the pivotal ZUMA-1 study, the best overall response (ORR) and complete response (CR) rates observed in 108 patients treated with axi-cel were 82% and 58%, respectively. At a median follow-up of 15.4 months, 42% of the patients remain in ongoing response (Neelapu et al. N Eng J Med 2017). Analysis of efficacy outcomes in patients <65 years (N=81) and ³65 years (N=27) showed that the ORR and ongoing response at 12 months were comparable between the two subgroups (Neelapu et al. N Eng J Med 2017). Whether the safety is also comparable between the two subgroups is unknown. Here, we report safety outcomes in elderly patients (³65 years) with large B-cell lymphoma treated with axi-cel at our institution. Methods We retrospectively analyzed and reviewed the data from patients treated with axi-cel at our institution. Patients had a diagnosis of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL), and transformed follicular lymphoma (TFL). Patients were treated with conditioning chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine for 3 days followed by axi-cel infusion after 2 days of rest at a dose of 2 x 106 CAR+ T cells/kg body weight. Patients were monitored for toxicities for at least 7 days in the hospital after CAR T infusion and those who had at least 30 days of follow-up after axi-cel were considered to be evaluable for safety. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurological toxicity termed as CAR-related encephalopathy syndrome (CRES) were graded according to the CARTOX grading system (Neelapu et al. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2018). Results A total of 61 patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma who received axi-cel at our institution were included. Of these, 44 (72%) patients were <65 years of age and 17 (28%) patients were ³65 years of age. The baseline characteristics of the patients are summarized in Table 1. ORR and CR rates at Day 30 were comparable between the two groups. CRS was common in both groups and was observed in 83% and 91% of the patients in the older and younger age groups, respectively. But most CRS events were grade 1-2. Grade 3 or higher CRS was observed in 18% vs. 11% in the older vs. younger age groups (P=0.67). One patient with a history of autoimmune disease in the elderly group died of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). CRES was observed in 58% and 71% of the patients in the older and younger age groups, respectively. Grade 3 or higher CRES was observed in 29% vs. 39% in the older vs. younger age groups (P=0.58). Median hospitalization period for axi-cel CAR T-cell therapy was comparable between the two groups. Conclusions Our results suggest that response rates are comparable between the elderly and younger age groups at day 30 after axi-cel therapy. Importantly, toxicities due to CRS and/or CRES after axi-cel CD19 CAR T cell therapy are comparable between the elderly (³65 years) and younger (<65 years) patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Table 1 Table 1. Disclosures Nastoupil: Merck: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Juno: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria, Research Funding; TG Therappeutics: Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Spectrum: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria. Fowler:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Samaniego:ADC Therapeutics: Research Funding. Wang:Kite Pharma: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Juno: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; MoreHealth: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Westin:Kite Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Apotex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

CAR T-Cell Therapy for B-Cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Clinical Trials and Real-World Experiences

“…This concern is also supported by the notion that comorbidities, the burden of which is typically higher in elderly patients than in younger patients, are associated with poor outcomes after axi-cel infusion (21). Two small, retrospective single-center studies that analyzed outcomes for patients 65 years or older (24 and 17 patients, respectively, in the two studies) and patients younger than 65 years (25 and 44 patients, respectively) who received axi-cel for relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma showed comparable efficacies and rates of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity (22,23). Similar data were reported in a retrospective analysis of 177 Medicare patients (24).…”

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“…[27] In terms of the relationship between age and the development of CRS the data are limited, but in a study of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma there was not a significant difference in secondary effects between patients older and younger than 65 years. [28]…”

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“…No treatment-related deaths were observed in a US multicenter cohort of 165 patients who received axicabtagenciloleucel for r/r DLBCL after commercialization outside of clinical trials [81]. Recently, safety of axicabtagenciloleucel was also confirmed in patients ≥65 years [83]. Further it has been reported that neurotoxicity is fully reversible in most patients [84].…”