Dr. Kahl on the Current Unmet Needs in MCL

Brad S. Kahl, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, Oncology Division, Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, medical oncologist, Siteman Cancer Center, discusses unmet needs in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Determining the best course of action for high-risk patients with MCL remains one of the largest unmet needs of the disease, Kahl says. Patients in the frontline setting who present with a p53 mutation respond poorly to the current standard of care, such as bendamustine (Treanda) plus rituximab (Rituxan), or high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, Kahl explains. It is hoped that novel agents and therapies, such as BTK inhibitors and CAR T-cell therapy, could lead to improved outcomes for patients with high-risk disease, Kahl says.

Additionally, standard treatments do not work as efficiently in older patients with highly proliferative MCL, and more options are also needed for that population, Kahl explains. BTK inhibitors or novel combinations, such as a regimen developed in Italy featuring bendamustine, low-dose cytarabine, and rituximab, Kahl notes. Promising data have been collected from that combination with 7 years of follow-up, and cytarabine appears to help older patients overcome the highly proliferative risk associated with MCL, Kahl concludes.