Abstract
Purpose: Tisagenlecleucel is an anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR19) T-cell therapy approved for the treatment of children and young adults with relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Patients and Methods: We evaluated the cellular kinetics of tisagenlecleucel, the effect of patient factors, humoral immunogenicity, and manufacturing attributes on its kinetics, and exposure-response analysis for efficacy, safety and pharmacodynamic endpoints in 79 patients across two studies in pediatric B-ALL (ELIANA and ENSIGN). Results: Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction to quantify levels of tisagenlecleucel transgene, responders (N ¼ 62) had 2-fold higher tisagenlecleucel expansion in peripheral blood than nonresponders (N ¼ 8; 74% and 104% higher geometric mean Cmax and AUC0-28d, respectively) with persistence measurable beyond 2 years in responding patients. Cmax increased with occurrence and severity of cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Tisagenlecleucel continued to expand and persist following tocilizumab, used to manage CRS. Patients with B-cell recovery within 6 months had earlier loss of the transgene compared with patients with sustained clinical response. Clinical responses were seen across the entire dose range evaluated (patients 50 kg: 0.2 to 5.0 106/kg; patients >50 kg: 0.1 to 2.5 108 CAR-positive viable T cells) with no relationship between dose and safety. Neither preexisting nor treatment-induced antimurine CAR19 antibodies affected the persistence or clinical response. Conclusions: Response to tisagenlecleucel was associated with increased expansion across a wide dose range. These results highlight the importance of cellular kinetics in understanding determinants of response to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6175-6184 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Clinical Cancer Research |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 24 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 15 2018 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research