Dr. Maloney on Challenges With CAR T-Cell Therapy in ALL

David G. Maloney, MD, PhD, member of the Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, discusses the challenges that exist in the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).

On August 30, 2017, the FDA approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) for the treatment of patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell precursor ALL that is refractory or in second or later relapse.

Challenges still exist, says Maloney, namely the age cutoff. Studies are now being done conducted in adults, and the toxicities that are being seen are manageable, Maloney adds.