Cytokine Release Syndrome and Associated Acute Toxicities in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Immune Effector Cell Therapy or Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Outcomes with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in Rheumatological disorders: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy is an emerging form of immunotherapy that has recently gained recognition for treating hematological malignancies. This successful utilization of CAR-T therapy has attracted interest in its application in refractory rheumatological diseases. Here, we will review the use of CAR-T therapy in rheumatological diseases.

METHODS

Per PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov using keywords for 'CAR-T cell therapy' and 'Rheumatological diseases' from inception to December 9, 2023. After screening 2977 articles, six studies reporting outcomes of CAR-T cell therapies in patients with underlying autoimmune /rheumatological diseases. Descriptive analysis was performed to represent demographics and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 101 adult patients from six studies were included in this systematic review. The median age of the participants was 50.8 years (IQR: 14.875), with ages ranging from 18 to 83 years. The included studies comprised 2 case reports, 1 case series, one observational study, and two clinical trials. The studies were conducted globally, including USA, Germany, and China. The underlying rheumatologic conditions were systemic lupus erythematosus (17.8 %), rheumatoid arthritis (23.8 %), myasthenia gravis (13.8 %), neuromyelitis optica (11.9 %), and others (32.7 %). The target of CAR-T therapy included CD-19 in four studies and B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in two studies. All the patients were on prior therapy, including glucocorticoids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Follow-up ranged from a month to 1.5 years. Most of the studies reported improvement in the symptoms and decline in serological biomarkers of the underlying disease. The notable outcomes in the included studies were a 100 % response rate in five out of six studies. Grade 1 and 2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed in five studies. Only one study reported Grade 3 or higher CRS. 2 patients (1.98 %) developed neurotoxicity among the adverse effects.

CONCLUSION

CAR-T cell therapy is a paradigm shift in managing rheumatologic diseases, with symptomatic improvement and biochemical control of these diseases. Although preliminary evidence indicates promising results, long-term follow-up and prospective clinical trials are needed to establish optimal timing and assess the safety and efficacy of CAR-T immunotherapy.

B-cell-directed CAR T-cell therapy activates CD8+ cytotoxic CARneg bystander T cells in patients and nonhuman primates

ABSTRACT

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells hold promise as a therapy for B-cell-derived malignancies, and despite their impressive initial response rates, a significant proportion of patients ultimately experience relapse. Although recent studies have explored the mechanisms of in vivo CAR T-cell function, little is understood about the activation of surrounding CARneg bystander T cells and their potential to enhance tumor responses. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on nonhuman primate (NHP) and patient-derived T cells to identify the phenotypic and transcriptomic hallmarks of bystander activation of CARneg T cells following B-cell-targeted CAR T-cell therapy. Using a highly translatable CD20 CAR NHP model, we observed a distinct population of activated CD8+ CARneg T cells emerging during CAR T-cell expansion. These bystander CD8+ CARneg T cells exhibited a unique transcriptional signature with upregulation of natural killer-cell markers (KIR3DL2, CD160, and KLRD1), chemokines, and chemokine receptors (CCL5, XCL1, and CCR9), and downregulation of naïve T-cell-associated genes (SELL and CD28). A transcriptionally similar population was identified in patients after a tisagenlecleucel infusion. Mechanistic studies revealed that interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-15 exposure induced bystander-like CD8+ T cells in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro activated and patient-derived T cells with a bystander phenotype efficiently killed leukemic cells through a T-cell receptor-independent mechanism. Collectively, to our knowledge, these data provide the first comprehensive identification and profiling of CARneg bystander CD8+ T cells following B-cell-targeting CAR T-cell therapy and suggest a novel mechanism through which CAR T-cell infusion might trigger enhanced antileukemic responses. Patient samples were obtained from the trial #NCT03369353, registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy in the Outpatient Setting: An Expert Panel Opinion from the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

The first series of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy products were approved in 2017 to 2019 and have shown remarkable efficacy in both clinical trials and the real-world setting, but at the cost of prolonged patient hospitalization. As the toxicity management protocols were refined, the concept of cellular therapy administered in the outpatient setting gained steam, and single institutions began to perform certain aspects of CAR-T monitoring in the outpatient setting for select patients. However, there are many considerations for a successful outpatient program. In anticipation of increasing use of CAR-T-cell therapy in the outpatient setting as a mechanism to overcome frequent hospital bed shortages and high cost of inpatient care, the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy convened a group of experts in hematology, oncology, and cellular therapy to provide a comprehensive review of the existing publications on outpatient CAR-T cell therapy, discuss selected ongoing clinical trials of outpatient CAR-T, and describe strategies to optimize safety without compromising efficacy for patients treated and monitored in the outpatient setting.

Current progress of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T versus CAR NK cell for immunotherapy of solid tumors

Equipping cancer-fighting immune cells with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) has gained immense attention for cancer treatment. CAR-engineered T cells (CAR T cells) are the first immune-engineered cells that have achieved brilliant results in anti-cancer therapy. Despite promising anti-cancer features, CAR T cells could also cause fatal side effects and have shown inadequate efficacy in some studies. This has led to the introduction of other candidates for CAR transduction, e.g., Natural killer cells (NK cells). Regarding the better safety profile and anti-cancer properties, CAR-armored NK cells (CAR NK cells) could be a beneficial and suitable alternative to CAR T cells. Since introducing these two cells as anti-cancer structures, several studies have investigated their efficacy and safety, and most of them have focused on hematological malignancies. Solid tumors have unique properties that make them more resistant and less curable cancers than hematological malignancies. In this review article, we conduct a comprehensive review of the structure and properties of CAR NK and CAR T cells, compare the recent experience of immunotherapy with CAR T and CAR NK cells in various solid cancers, and overview current challenges and future solutions to battle solid cancers using CARNK cells.

Cytokine Release Syndrome in the Pediatric Population and Implications for Intensive Care Management

Cytokine release syndrome represents a spectrum of disease varying from fever alone to multiorgan system failure. Most commonly seen following treatment with chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, it is increasingly being described with other immunotherapies as well as following hematopoietic stem cell transplant. As its symptoms are nonspecific, awareness is key to timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Given the high risk of cardiopulmonary involvement, critical care providers must be familiar with the cause, symptoms, and therapeutic options. Current treatment modalities focus on immunosuppression and targeted cytokine therapy.

Novel infusion strategy reduces severe adverse events caused by the anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody naxitamab

Introduction

Anti-disialoganglioside 2 (anti-GD2) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are associated with Grade ≥3 (≥G3) adverse events (AEs) such as severe pain, hypotension, and bronchospasm. We developed a novel method of administering the GD2-binding mAb naxitamab, termed "Step-Up" infusion (STU), to reduce the risk of AEs of severe pain, hypotension, and bronchospasm.

Methods

Forty-two patients with GD2-positive tumors received naxitamab under "compassionate use" protocols and administered via either the standard infusion regimen (SIR) or the STU regimen. The SIR comprises a 60-min infusion of 3 mg/kg/day on Day 1 of cycle 1 and a 30- to 60-min infusion on Day 3 and Day 5, as tolerated. The STU regimen uses a 2-h infusion on Day 1, initiated at a rate of 0.06 mg/kg/h during 15 min (0.015 mg/kg) and which increases gradually to a cumulative dose of 3 mg/kg; on Days 3 and 5, the 3-mg/kg dose is initiated at 0.24 mg/kg/h (0.06 mg/kg) and delivered in 90 min according to the same gradual-increase strategy. AEs were graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0.

Results

The frequency of infusions with an associated G3 AE was reduced from 8.1% (23/284 infusions) with SIR to 2.5% (5/202 infusions) with STU. The odds of an infusion being associated with a G3 AE reduced by 70.3% with STU vs. SIR (odds ratio: 0.297; p = 0.037). Mean serum naxitamab levels pre- and post-STU (11.46 µg/ml pre-infusion; 100.95 µg/ml post-infusion) were within the range reported for SIR.

Discussion

The comparable pharmacokinetics of naxitamab during SIR and STU may indicate that switching to STU reduces G3 AEs without impact on efficacy.

Blinatumomab for treating pediatric B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A retrospective real-world study

OBJECTIVES

Blinatumomab was shown to be safe and effective for consolidation therapy in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of blinatumomab in pediatric B-ALL patients in a real-world setting.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, observational study that included patients who initiated blinatumomab treatment between October 1, 2020 and June 20, 2022. Patients with B-ALL diagnosis, age below 18 years, and at least one blinatumomab treatment cycle were included. Treatment-related toxicities were assessed.

RESULT

Totally 23 pediatric patients were included in this study, with a median age of 6 years (range, 2 to 11 years). Blinatumomab therapy was applied for MRD-positive (disease ≥0.01%, n = 3) or chemotherapy-ineligible (n = 20) B-ALL cases. The median follow-up time was 9 months, and all evaluable patients achieved complete molecular remission with undetectable MRD. Four relapsed B-ALL cases proceeded to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) without further bridging therapy, while the others underwent maintenance chemotherapy after blinatumomab treatment. Grade ≥3 febrile neutropenia, white blood cell decrease and seizure were observed in 57%, 48% and 4.3% of patients, respectively. One case discontinued therapy due to neurologic toxicities. Elevated cytokine levels were observed in 4 patients. In all 23 patients, increased T-cell and low B-cell counts (<10/μl) were detected during blinatumomab therapy.

CONCLUSION

These encouraging results suggest blinatumomab in pediatric B-ALL patients with MRD⁺ or chemotherapy-related toxicities is effective and safe in the short run, although long-term follow-up is still needed.