Dr. Wang on the Safety Profile of Brexucabtagene Autoleucel in Relapsed/Refractory MCL

Michael Wang, MD, a professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the safety profile of ​the CAR T-cell therapy brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus; formerly KTE-X19) in ​relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). 

On July 24, 2020, the FDA approved brexucabtagene autoleucel for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory MCL. The approval was based on data from the phase 2 ZUMA-2 trial, in which a single infusion of the CAR T-cell product led to an 87% objective response rate and 62% complete response rate.

Regarding safety, the rates of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity ​were favorable, says Wang. CRS ​onset typically occur​ed within 1 or 2 days ​after infusion and peak​ed around 1 week, while neurotoxicity peak​ed between day​s 10 and 14.

Both CRS and neurotoxicity were well managed with tocilizumab (Actemra) or corticosteroids, ​Wang explains. ​Though, 1 patient died as a result of CRS.