Dr. Goy on the Efficacy of Brexucabtagene Autoleucel in Relapsed/Refractory MCL

Andre Goy, MD, physician in chief of the Hackensack Meridian Health Oncology Care Transformation Services, chairman and chief physician officer at John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, and Lymphoma Division Chief at the John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the efficacy of brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel; Tecartus; formerly KTE-X19) in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), as demonstrated in the phase 2 ZUMA-2 trial (NCT02601313).

The patient population included in the study was heavily pretreated. Generally, treatment options are limited for this population, with the exception of a small subset of patients who are eligible for allogenic transplant, Goy says. The initial results of the study led to the July 2020 FDA approval of brexucabtagene autoleucel in adult patients with relapsed/refractory MCL. A single infusion of the CAR T-cell product induced an 87% objective response rate (ORR) per independent radiologic review committee assessment, with a 62% complete response (CR) rate.

Updated results presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition showed that at 17 months of follow-up, the ORR was 93%, with a CR rate of 67%, Goy says. Moreover, 48% of efficacy-evaluable patients had ongoing responses to treatment. This is significant, as patients who progress after standard therapies or BTK inhibitors typically have poor survival, according to Goy. Additionally, the agent demonstrated a durable CR , Goy concludes.