Dr. Locke on the ZUMA-6 Trial of Axi-Cel With Atezolizumab for DLBCL

Frederick Locke, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the results of the ZUMA-6 trial investigating axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; KTE-C19) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of patients with refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The ZUMA-6 trial combines axi-cel, the CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with atezolizumab. Patients enrolled on the trial have DLBCL and did not respond to their last line of chemotherapy or progressed within 12 months of an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, says Locke.

ZUMA-6 is a phase I/II trial looking at the safety of the combination. The toxicities associated with axi-cel were similar to what was seen in the pivotal ZUMA-1 trial. There were similar rates of cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity, explains Locke.

The ZUMA-6 trial is aimed at building on the success of the ZUMA-1 trial, in which the CR rate was 40% with a median follow-up of 15.4 months for patients with refractory, aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with axi-cel. Based on initial data from the ZUMA-1 trial, the FDA approved axi-cel in October 2017 as a treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory NHL.