Oncology

Anti-BCMA directed treatments, including CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates, have the potential to revolutionize the multiple myeloma treatment paradigm. At the 37 Annual CFS®, Sham Mailankody, MBBS, discussed the emerging BCMA-directed therapies that have shown the greatest potential.

Saad Z. Usmani, MD, FACP, discusses the mechanisms of action of BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific monoclonal antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates in multiple myeloma.

The FDA has granted a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation to the investigational anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy CT053 for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Nina Chavez, MBA, FACMPE, chief operating officer, New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants, Ltd., explains how expensive therapies like chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy are creating reimbursement challenges.

Bianca D. Santomasso, MD, PhD, discusses how she prevents central nervous system toxicity due to CAR T-cell therapy for aggressive B-cell lymphoma in her own practice.

Novel strategies are needed to enhance the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, including new constructs that target more than 1 antigen.

The emergence of monoclonal antibodies, immunomodulatory agents, immunotoxins, bispecific T-cell engagers, and CAR T-cell therapies will redefine multiple myeloma treatment. However, these new approaches, by themselves, are not enough to achieve cure; they must be used in combination.

Treatment delays limit the social value generated by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In a long-awaited national coverage determination decision, CMS said Wednesday that it approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.

Sattva Neelapu, MD, discusses the use of CAR T-cell therapy in the third-line setting for patients with large B-cell lymphoma.

Deepu Madduri, MD, discusses ongoing trials examining CAR T-cell therapy in myeloma and the potential to use it in earlier lines of therapy.

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to the autologous CAR T-cell therapy P-BCMA-101 for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Mario Sznol, MD, professor of medicine, co-director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, Yale Cancer Center, discusses patient selection for combination therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Healthcare is very comfortable with treating a disease, but it’s not as good with handling cures. However, the advent of gene therapy and precision medicine means more and more expensive cures are coming down the pipeline, said panelists on the last day of Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Christine N. Duncan, MD, discusses the current components of CAR T-cell therapy in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Dozens of doctors and other medical professionals have been charged with exchanging opioids and other drugs for sex and cash; the first 2 patients in the United States have been treated with CRISPR; doctors have cured infants of immunodeficiency syndrome using gene therapy made from HIV.

Sergio A. Giralt, MD, discusses recent data with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell therapy and why this long-standing modality remains an integral part of treatment for patients with relapsed myeloma.

Noopur Raje, MD, discusses the current treatment landscape of multiple myeloma, with a specific focus on available triplet regimens and the recent data with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

Two abstracts presented at the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Meetings analyzed the detection of minimal residual disease during and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Real-world data on the use of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in large B-cell lymphoma bear out the pivotal results from ZUMA-1 and demonstrate not only that the treatment approach is here, but also that it’s time to address issues of efficacy, safety, cost, and moving this approach into earlier lines of therapy.

B-cell maturation antigen-specific chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is delivering impressive results in multiple myeloma, demonstrating durable responses and acceptable toxicities.

This week, the top managed care news included CMS' proposal to cover chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy; a study faulting the FDA’s handling of fentanyl oversight; and breast surgeons calling for genetic testing for all patients with breast cancer.

Deepu Madduri, MD, discusses the status of transplant for eligible patients and the developments that are being made with CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma.

As new, innovative therapies with high price tags, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, come to market, the US health system will have to start looking at different approaches for reimbursement, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance.

C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, discusses the role of minimal residual disease negativity and the emergence of CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma.

Deepu Madduri, MD, assistant professor, Mount Sinai Hospital, discusses treatment after CAR T-cell therapy in patients with myeloma.

A multitude of BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapies are currently in development, each demonstrating different efficacy and safety profiles and each with different constructs.

While new therapies like chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, can have amazing results, the innovation of these treatments has outstripped the United States’ ability to pay for them, said Michael Kolodziej, MD, vice president and chief innovation officer at ADVI Health, Inc.

The anti-BCMA CAR T cell therapy bb21217 demonstrated an objective response rate of 83.3%, with a very good partial response or better rate of 75% in patients with heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.