Dr. Lin on Patient Eligibility for CAR T-cell Therapy in Hematologic Caners

Yi Lin, MD, PhD, hematologist, oncologist, Department of Hematology, CAR T-Cell Therapy Program, Mayo Clinic, discusses patient eligibility for CAR T-cell therapy in hematologic cancers.

Many oncologists have experience referring patients for stem cell transplant, and referring patients for CAR T-cell therapy can work in a similar fashion, though it may be more beneficial since CAR T-cell therapy can be effective in patients with active disease, Lin explains. When referring patients to CAR T-cell therapy, it is important to consider a patient’s number of prior lines of therapy, their comorbidities, and organ function, Lin adds.

Though clinical trials evaluating CAR T-cell therapies in hematologic malignancies have strict parameters, it can be difficult for many patients to fall inside all of those parameters in real-world practice, Lin continues. In reports on real-world data for patients with leukemia or lymphoma who received CAR T-cell therapy, approximately half of patients treated fall outside of at least 1 parameter that was used for CAR T-cell therapies in clinical trials, Lin notes.

Through coordination between clinicians and the CAR T-cell therapy team, patients who fall outside the parameters used in clinical trials can still have comparable outcomes from CAR T-cell therapy, Lin concludes.