According to a story from curetoday.com, the U.S. FDA has recently approved the CAR-T cell treatment Kymriah for adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in cases of relapse or in cases where the patient does not qualify for a stem cell transplant. This variant of lymphoma is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, it still only occurs in seven or eight out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. and the U.K.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), as the name suggests is a cancer that affects B cells, which are type of white blood cell. These cells are responsible for producing antibodies. Although it can occur in children and young adults in the rarest cases, this type of lymphoma primarily affects older people, usually around 70 or older. Symptoms are typical of many lymphomas, and include night sweats, unexpected weight loss, and fever. Risk factors include underlying immunodeficiencies and infection from the Epstein-Barr virus. Occasionally, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma can transform from other types of blood cancer. Treatment advances have led to over half of patients being cured, and the five year survival rate is 58 percent. To learn more about diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, click here.
The approval comes after the latest trials which indicate that Kymriah displayed an overall response rate of 50 percent. Patients that had previously received autologous stem cell transplant and patients with ‘double hit’ DLBCL, which has worse outcomes, had comparable response rates. This treatment is only the second drug to be approved for treating DLBCL in nearly thirty years.
Kymriah is the second CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor) therapy to gain approval. The long term effects of this type of medication warrant further study, and as a result, long term follow up with patients that have used it will be necessary in order to determine the effects as well as the characteristics of patients that respond well.
Currently, trials are comparing the effectiveness of CAR-T cell therapies alongside autologous stem cell transplants in order to determine what the standard treatment will be for high risk patients. In addition, researchers are working out the best ways to manage the distinct side effects of CAR-T cell therapy, which include cytopenia, increased risk of infection, and cytokine release syndrome.
