Mantle cell lymphoma mainly affects middle-aged men and usually has an aggressive course. Unfortunately, patients whose disease returns after the first course of treatment or who do not respond to drugs face a poor prognosis, with a survival of a few months. For them, the first therapy based on cells modified to selectively target the tumor is now arriving in Italy: KTE-X19, a cellular immunotherapy based on the use of Car-T cells, T cells that express a chimeric receptor (Car) capable to recognize and bind an antigen expressed on cancer cells.
CAR-T cells as drug factories
by Anna Lisa Bonfanceschi
“The availability of this first cell therapy for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma provides an important option for patients,” said Paolo Corradini, Director of the Hematology Division of the IRCCS National Cancer Institute of Milan and Full Professor of the University of Milan. Milan studios. “At the moment, the treatment options for these patients, whose disease progresses after initial therapies, are almost nil. There is therefore a felt need for new therapeutic options. The observed high response rates support the potential of KTE-X19 as an effective therapy for people with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, with a manageable safety profile. ”
Beyond CAR-T: towards a new cell therapy against leukemia, thanks to an Italian research
by Simone Valesini
The authorization is based on data from the Zuma-2 clinical trial: a study conducted in 20 centers in the United States and Europe in which the treatment was administered to 68 patients. The overall response rate was 93%, with 67% of patients achieving a complete response after a single infusion of KTE-X19. On the safety front, cytokine release syndrome and neurological events, grade 3 or higher, were observed in 15% and 31% of patients, respectively, in line with what has been observed in other trials of CAR-based therapies. T.