Bijal Shah, MD, on AUTO1 in R/R B-Cell ALL and the FELIX Trial

This content originally appeared on our sister site, OncLive.

AUTO1 (CAT19-41BB-Z CAR T-cells) is an autologous low-affinity CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy being evaluated in the phase 1/2 FELIX trial (NCT04404660) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The trial is unique due to its inclusion of patients with minimal residual disease (MRD)–positive B-ALL in 1 of its cohorts.

In an interview with OncLive, Bijal Shah, MD, MS, associate member, Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center, discussed the trial's importance. He explained that the inclusion of these patients is based on multiple retrospective observations indicating that patients with low disease burden have the best outcomes in terms of toxicity, response, and duration of response. Shah also clarified that "low disease burden" ideally referes to undectable disease in this context.