A hub-and-spoke model to deliver effective access to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in a public health network: the Catalan Blood and Tissue Bank experience.

Background Aims: To describe and analyze whether a hub-and-spoke organizational model could efficiently provide access to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy within a network of academic hospitals and address the growing demands of this complex and specialized activity.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective evaluation of activity within the Catalan Blood and Tissue Bank network, which was established for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to serve six CAR T-cell programs in academic hospitals of the Catalan Health Service. Procedures at six hospitals were followed from 2016 to 2021.

Leukocytapheresis variables and transit time for allogeneic cryopreserved hpc: better safe than sorry.

Cryopreservation was recommended to ensure continuity in allogeneic hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several groups have shown no impact on clinical outcomes for patients who underwent HPC transplantation with cryopreserved products during the first months of this pandemic. However, concerns about quality control attributes after cryopreservation have been raised.

Results of ARI-0001 CART19 cell therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory CD19-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia with isolated extramedullary disease.

We evaluated outcomes of 18 patients with isolated extramedullary disease (iEMD) relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) treated with the CD19-directed CAR T cells ARI-0001 in two centers (adult and pediatric), including patients treated in the CART19-BE-01 trial and the consecutive compassionate use program. iEMD was detected by PET-CT in 78% (14/18), and/or by cerebrospinal fluid analysis in 28% (5/18). Patients received cyclophosphamide and fludarabine followed by 1 × 10 ARI-0001 cells/kg, initially as a single dose (first patient) and later split into three fractions (10%, 30%, and 60%).

Cryopreservation of unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cells: the right answer for transplantations during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Cryopreservation was recommended to ensure continuity of unrelated donor (UD) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) during COVID-19 pandemic. However, its impact on clinical outcomes and feasibility was not well known. We compared 32 patients who underwent UD HSCT using cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) during the COVID-19 pandemic with 32 patients who underwent UD HSCT using fresh PBSC in the previous period.

CART19-BE-01: A Multicenter Trial of ARI-0001 Cell Therapy in Patients with CD19 Relapsed/Refractory Malignancies.

We evaluated the administration of ARI-0001 cells (chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting CD19) in adult and pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory CD19 malignancies. Patients received cyclophosphamide and fludarabine followed by ARI-0001 cells at a dose of 0.4-5 × 10 ARI-0001 cells/kg, initially as a single dose and later split into 3 fractions (10%, 30%, and 60%) with full administration depending on the absence of cytokine release syndrome (CRS).

Therapeutic plasma exchange in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in children.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that is probably due to an autoimmune mechanism with an acute presentation and a monophasic course. The management of patients with ADEM is based on supportive therapy, corticosteroids, and intravenous immunoglobulin, and in selected cases, with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of TPE, as adjuvant therapy in pediatric patients with ADEM.