Dr. Sauter on Off-The-Shelf Versus Autologous CAR T-Cell Products in Hematologic Malignancies

Craig Sauter, MD, a hematologic oncologist and clinical director of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the differences between off-the-shelf and autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products in patients with hematologic malignancies.

The primary advantage of off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy is that patients have the opportunity to access cellular therapy in real time, as compared with autologous products that need to be manufactured in the lab, Sauter says.

Having more immediate access to these products is especially important for patients with poor-risk, relapsed/refractory lymphoma. For these patients, time is a critical component of their care; this is especially true for patients who aren’t responding to therapy, which is the current indication for CAR-modified T cells, Sauter adds.

However, there is a possibility that the off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy products can be rejected by the host immune system. Approaches to circumnavigate that risk are currently at the forefront of investigation, Sauter concludes.