Publications by authors named "Kharfan-Dabaja M"
Article Synopsis
- * Treatments like conventional chemotherapy and new therapies, such as venetoclax, have limited success for patients with TP53 mutations, leading to low response rates and poor survival outcomes.
- * Allogeneic stem cell transplantation offers a potential cure but is influenced by the patient's overall health and disease stage, while newer immune-based therapies have not yet proven effective in larger trials.
Article Synopsis
- * A new CAR called MC9999 was developed to target both tumor and immunosuppressive cells effectively, demonstrating consistent antitumor effects in models of breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
- * MC9999 CAR T cells have shown the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and specifically kill immunosuppressive cells within GBM tumors, highlighting their potential as a foundation for improved CAR
Article Synopsis
- Autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation is a common treatment for conditions like multiple myeloma and lymphomas, and it usually involves freezing the stem cells before transplant.* -
- A recent systematic review of 19 transplant centers that performed non-cryopreserved PBSC transplants showed that the procedure is feasible and safe, with high stem cell viability and low rates of complications.* -
- The study found that stem cell viability was over 90% for multiple myeloma and over 75% for lymphomas, with quick engraftment times, and only 1% transplant-related mortality within 100 days.*
Article Synopsis
- - Historically, treatment for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) mainly relied on conventional chemotherapy used for other blood cancers, but now there is a new targeted therapy for BPDCN focusing on the CD123 marker.
- - The primary goal of treatment is to achieve the first complete remission (CR1), as it provides the best chance for survival, especially if patients can undergo an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) afterward.
- - While myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens show improved survival rates for allo-HCT, they aren't suitable for older or unfit patients, who make up a large portion of BPDCN cases; therefore,
Article Synopsis
- Philadelphia-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-like ALL) is a high-risk type of B-cell ALL that is difficult to treat effectively with standard therapies, resulting in poor prognoses for patients.
- A multicenter study analyzed the outcomes of adult patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in their first complete remission (CR1) for Ph-like ALL, comparing results to those of Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL (Ph-pos) and other B-cell Philadelphia negative ALL (Ph-neg).
- The findings indicated that patients with Ph-like ALL had outcomes similar to Ph-neg ALL after HCT, while Ph-pos ALL patients had significantly better survival rates, suggesting that effective second-line therapies in conjunction with HCT
Article Synopsis
- * A panel of experts made recommendations emphasizing the use of bone marrow as a graft source and preferred rabbit antithymocyte globulin over horse ATG for conditioning. They also support using fludarabine for high-risk patients and expanding HCT eligibility to fit older adults.
- * The panel advocates prioritizing matched unrelated or haploidentical donor transplants over immunosuppressive therapy when a matched related donor isn't available and suggests specific GVHD prophylaxis options for donor
Article Synopsis
- There is a significant challenge with treating relapsed/refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) using existing CAR T-cell therapies, particularly as there are no approved options for CLL patients.
- This study focuses on a new CAR design targeting the B-cell activating factor receptor (BAFF-R), which is crucial for the survival of B-cells and commonly found on CLL tumors.
- The research showed that BAFF-R CAR T cells are effective in killing CLL cells and can also target resistant CD19-knockout CLL cells, suggesting that this therapy could provide a much-needed treatment option for CLL patients.
Article Synopsis
- - Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) is becoming the standard treatment to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHCT), but it can cause endothelial damage.
- - The study investigates whether the endothelial activation and stress index (EASIX) score can predict non-relapse mortality (NRM) in patients receiving PT-Cy, alongside the hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index (HCT-CI) and other survival factors.
- - Findings from analyzing 199 patients reveal that a high EASIX score significantly correlates with increased NRM (34.5% vs. 12
Article Synopsis
- - VEXAS syndrome is a rare, inherited inflammatory disease that usually appears in adults around their 50s and requires treatments such as allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for severe cases.
- - A systematic review/meta-analysis of 88 studies was conducted, revealing that among 39 patients included, the overall survival rate after allo-HCT was 86%, while the event-free survival rate was 56%.
- - While allo-HCT is shown to be an effective treatment, it also carries risks, with a 14% non-relapse mortality rate and rates of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease at 42% and 13%, respectively.
Unirradiated patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who undergo anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CART) have a predominant localized pattern of relapse, the significance of which is heightened in individuals with limited/localized disease before CART. This study reports on the outcomes of patients with R/R NHL and limited (<5 involved sites) disease bridged with or without radiotherapy. A multicenter retrospective review of 150 patients with R/R NHL who received CART with <5 disease sites before leukapheresis was performed.
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- The standard treatment for fit patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), but it may not be ideal for everyone.
- A study of 151 patients showed that while most had good responses before ASCT, those who had multiple lines of salvage chemotherapy or were diagnosed at an advanced stage faced significantly worse outcomes.
- Median progression-free survival was 54.5 months and overall survival was 88.9 months, with no significant survival difference based on age or other characteristics, although advanced-stage relapse and multiple salvage treatments negatively affected survival rates.
Article Synopsis
- * A study analyzed data from patients treated with auto-HCT (281 patients) and CAR-T (79 patients) between 2015 and 2021, revealing that auto-HCT had a higher 2-year progression-free survival (66.2% vs. 47.8%) and lower relapse rate (27.8% vs. 48%).
- * The findings suggest that auto-HCT is a more effective treatment option in select patients with relapsed D
Clinical Practice Recommendations for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies in Follicular Lymphoma: A Collaborative Effort on Behalf of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Transplant Cell Ther
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common type of indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, making up about one-third of all NHL cases, and is considered incurable despite advancements in treatment over the past decade.
- Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) might be curative for some patients, while chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) shows promising response rates in relapsed/refractory cases, but more research is needed for definitive conclusions on its curative potential.
- The American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) developed 15 consensus statements to provide guidance on the use of HCT and cellular therapies in managing FL,
Article Synopsis
- - The study analyzed how different types of donors affect outcomes of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients with myelofibrosis, finding that the use of haploidentical donors rose significantly from 3% in 2013 to 19% in 2019.
- - Among 1,032 patients with chronic-phase myelofibrosis, matched sibling donor HCTs showed better overall survival in the first three months compared to haploidentical and matched unrelated donor HCTs, with notably lower rates of graft failure.
- - While matched sibling donors had superior early outcomes, there were no significant differences in long-term survival or disease-free survival among the different donor types, suggesting hap
Article Synopsis
- - New therapies have boosted survival rates for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but high-risk patients still face challenges with treatment failure.
- - Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) was once the main treatment for high-risk CLL, but targeted therapies like BTK and BCL-2 inhibitors have shifted its use to later stages of the disease.
- - Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies show promise for treating relapsed/refractory CLL, particularly for patients who did not respond to prior treatments, although no CAR T therapies have yet been approved specifically for CLL.
Nodal peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are challenging subsets of non-Hodgkin lymphomas characterized by their heterogeneity and aggressive clinical behavior. Given the mixed outcomes reported in previous studies, the efficacy of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) as a consolidation strategy following initial chemotherapy response remains uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the impact of upfront auto-HCT consolidation on overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) among patients with nodal PTCL who achieved a complete or partial response to initial chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAxicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) is an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Despite extensive data supporting its use, outcomes stratified by race and ethnicity groups are limited. Here, we report clinical outcomes with axi-cel in patients with R/R LBCL by race and ethnicity in both real-world and clinical trial settings.
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- Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) has significantly improved treatment for relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), but treatment failures remain common, posing major challenges in patient management.
- An online survey, conducted by the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) Committee on Practice Guidelines, gathered insights from 80 physicians regarding their practices for monitoring and addressing CAR-T failures in RRMM patients.
- The survey revealed variations across treatment centers, particularly in post-CAR-T evaluation practices and available rescue therapies, highlighting the need for collaborative research and established clinical guidelines to improve patient outcomes.