CAR-T therapy effective in Black and Hispanic patients

Date:
April 28, 2022
Source:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Summary:
CAR-T therapy, a form of immunotherapy that revs up T-cells to
recognize and destroy cancer cells, has revolutionized the treatment
of blood cancers, including certain leukemias, lymphomas, and most
recently, multiple myeloma. However, Black and Hispanic people
were largely absent from the major clinical trials that led to the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of CAR-T cell therapies.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== CAR-T therapy, a form of immunotherapy that revs up T-cells to recognize
and destroy cancer cells, has revolutionized the treatment of blood
cancers, including certain leukemias, lymphomas, and most recently,
multiple myeloma.

However, Black and Hispanic people were largely absent from the major
clinical trials that led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval
of CAR-T cell therapies.


==========================================================================
In a study published today in Blood Marrow Transplantation(BMT),
investigators at the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore
Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) report that Black and Hispanic patients had outcomes and side effects following CAR-T treatment that were comparable
to their white and Asian counterparts.

"Representation in cancer clinical trials is vital to ensuring that
treatments are safe and effective for everyone," said Mendel Goldfinger,
M.D., co- corresponding author of the paper, a medical oncologist at
Montefiore Health System, assistant professor of medicine at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, and member of the MECC Cancer Therapeutics Program. "We couldn't have been happier to learn that our patients who
identify as Black and Hispanic have the same benefits from CAR-T therapy
as white patients. We can only begin to say that a cancer treatment is transformational when these therapies benefit everyone who comes to us
for care." People who identify as Black and Hispanic often have tumor
biology, immune system biology, and side effects that are distinct from
white people. However, very few minorities were enrolled in the major
trials that led the FDA to approve CAR-T cell therapy.

Parity for Black and Hispanic Patients The new BMT study evaluated
outcomes for 46 participants treated at Montefiore between 2015 and
2021. Seventeen of the participants were Hispanic, 9 were African
American, 15 were white, and 5 were Asian.

Among Black and Hispanic patients, 58% achieved a complete response
after treatment and 19% achieved a partial response. For white and
Asian patients, 70% achieved a complete response and 20% had a partial response, indicating no statistical differences among racial and ethnic backgrounds. Results were similar with respect to major side effects experienced: Approximately 95% of participants in each group had mild to moderate cytokine release syndrome, a common side effect to immunotherapy
in which people experience fever and other flu-like symptoms.

Diversifying Cancer Clinical Trials "Our findings demonstrate that we
are able to effectively treat people from historically marginalized
groups using CAR-T; our hope is that more people from a diverse range
of racial and ethnic backgrounds will be included in clinical trials,"
said co-author Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., associate director of translational science at MECC, director of the division of hemato-oncology at Montefiore
and Einstein, and professor of medicine and of developmental and molecular biology at Einstein. Ira Braunschweig, M.D., associate professor of
medicine at Einstein and director of Stem Cell Transplantation and
Cellular Therapy and clinical program director, Hematologic Malignancies
at Montefiore, is also co-corresponding author on the study.

At Montefiore, approximately 80% of clinical trial participants are
minorities, compared with the nationwide figure of only 8%.

"As an academic medical center, it is not enough to make novel therapies
like CAR-T available," said Susan Green-Lorenzen, R.N. M.S.N.,
system senior vice president of operations at Montefiore and study
co-author. "We need to be at the forefront of ensuring that these
treatments are effective for the communities we serve -- this research
reflects this commitment." The study is titled "Efficacy and safety of
CAR-T cell therapy in minorities." In addition to Drs. Goldfinger, Verma,
and Braunschweig and Ms. Green-Lorenzen, other Einstein and Montefiore
authors are Astha Thakkar, M.D., Michelly Abreu, N.P., Kith Pradhan,
Ph.D., R. Alejandro Sica, M.D., Aditi Shastri, M.D., Noah Kornblum, M.D.,
Nishi Shah, M.D., M.P.H., Ioannis Mantzaris, M.D., M.S., Kira Gritsman,
M.D., Ph.D., Eric Feldman, M.D., and Richard Elkind, P.A.-C.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Albert_Einstein_College_of_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Astha Thakkar, Michelly Abreu, Kith Pradhan, R. Alejandro Sica,
Aditi
Shastri, Noah Kornblum, Nishi Shah, Ioannis Mantzaris, Kira
Gritsman, Eric Feldman, Richard Elkind, Susan Green-Lorenzen, Amit
Verma, Ira Braunschweig, Mendel Goldfinger. Efficacy and safety
of CAR-T cell therapy in minorities. Bone Marrow Transplantation,
2022; DOI: 10.1038/ s41409-022-01670-1 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220428104002.htm

--- up 8 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)