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Filioglou D, Husnain M, Khurana S, Simpson RJ, Katsanis E. Has the shortage of fludarabine altered the current paradigm of lymphodepletion in favor of bendamustine? Front Immunol 2023; 14:1329850. [PMID: 38077398 PMCID: PMC10702755 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1329850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The most common lymphodepletion regimen used prior to infusion of chimeric antigen receptor-T cells (CAR-T) is cyclophosphamide (CY) in combination with fludarabine (Flu) (CY-FLU). While cyclophosphamide (CY) possesses lymphotoxic effects, it concurrently preserves regulatory T cell activity, potentially affecting the efficacy of CAR-T cells. Moreover, the use of fludarabine (FLU) has been linked to neurotoxicity, which could complicate the early detection of immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) observed in CAR-T cell therapy. Given the ongoing shortage of FLU, alternative lymphodepleting agents have become necessary. To date, only a limited number of studies have directly compared different lymphodepleting regimens, and most of these comparisons have been retrospective in nature. Herein, we review the current literature on lymphodepletion preceding CAR-T cell therapies for lymphoid hematologic malignancies, with a specific focus on the use of bendamustine (BEN). Recent evidence suggests that administering BEN before CAR-T cell infusion yields comparable efficacy, possibly with a more favorable toxicity profile when compared to CY-FLU. This warrants further investigation through randomized prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Muhammad Husnain
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- The University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Sharad Khurana
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- The University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Richard J. Simpson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Emmanuel Katsanis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- The University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Pathology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
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