Interleukin-15-armoured GPC3 CAR T cells for patients with solid cancers.

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) promotes the survival of T lymphocytes and enhances the antitumour properties of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in preclinical models of solid neoplasms in which CAR T cells have limited efficacy. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is expressed in a group of solid cancers, and here we report the evaluation in humans of the effects of IL-15 co-expression on GPC3-expressing CAR T cells (hereafter GPC3 CAR T cells). Cohort 1 patients ( NCT02905188 and NCT02932956 ) received GPC3 CAR T cells, which were safe but produced no objective antitumour responses and reached peak expansion at 2 weeks.

Efficacy of Letermovir for Cytomegalovirus Prophylaxis Following Alemtuzumab T-Cell Depleted Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

In vivo T-cell depletion (TCD) using alemtuzumab decreases the risk of Graft vs Host Disease (GvHD) in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT). However, this approach increases the risk of infections post-allo-HSCT, including Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Letermovir is approved for the use in CMV prophylaxis post-allo-HSCT.

Time to optimize vaccination strategies in blood cancer patients.

Immune response to vaccinations is dampened in patients with indolent lymphomas due to disease and treatment-related factors. The study by Lim et al. demonstrated impaired humoral response but intact cellular response to the SARS-CoV2 vaccine in patients with follicular lymphoma receiving front-line therapy.

Bispecific antibodies and autologous chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies for treatment of hematological malignancies.

In recent years, the therapeutic landscape for hematological malignancies has markedly advanced, particularly since the inaugural approval of autologous chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy in 2017 for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Autologous CAR-T therapy involves the genetic modification of a patient's T cells to specifically identify and attack cancer cells, while bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) function by binding to both cancer cells and immune cells simultaneously, thereby triggering an immune response against the tumor. The subsequent approval of various CAR-T therapies and BsAbs have revolutionized the treatment of multiple hematological malignancies, highlighting high response rates and a subset of patients achieving prolonged disease control.