From Stem Cell Transplantation to CAR-T Therapy in Relapse-Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Main Article Content

Christian Gisselbrecht, MD Pr. Eric Van Den Neste, MD

Abstract

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is a highly curable disease when complete remission after immunochemotherapy is achieved. Despite a high complete remission rate, which is a prerequisite for a cure, 20–40% of patients will relapse or fail first-line therapy. Salvage chemotherapy followed by intensification with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has been established as a curative treatment for relapsed chemosensitive patients under 60 years of age. The results have been somewhat disappointing, with less than 50% of patients being eligible for transplant and relapse posttransplant ranging from 60–40%. Improvements have been made with new drugs in development, immunoconjugate bispecific monoclonal antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor technology (CAR-T). A more precise evaluation of prognostic factors with PET scans and other biological factors during treatment will allow for the design of new treatment strategies. The exceptional response rate in phase 2 achieved with the three available CARTs has now been confirmed with a longer follow-up period. At 2 years, the overall survival (OS) expectancy is 50% with a plateau on the curves. Three randomized studies compared CARTs to the standard of care with ASCT and demonstrated the superiority of CARTs. Despite this superiority, the relapse rate remains 50%, which is significantly better than the standard of care. However, major improvements in OS have not yet been achieved. A clearer definition of eligible patients should also take into account their interim pet-scan, metabolic tumour volume, relation with Ct DNA with follow-up of minimal residual disease.

Keywords: Lymphoma, diffuse large cell, stem cell transplantation, PET scan, relapse, CAR-T, immunochemotherapy

Article Details

How to Cite
GISSELBRECHT, Christian; NESTE, Eric Van Den. From Stem Cell Transplantation to CAR-T Therapy in Relapse-Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 8, aug. 2022. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/3014>. Date accessed: 26 apr. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i8.3014.
Section
Research Articles

References

1. Sehn LH, Salles G. Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2021; 384(9): 842-58.
2. Gisselbrecht C, Van Den Neste E. How I manage patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma. British journal of haematology 2018; 182(5): 633-43.
3. Gisselbrecht C, Schmitz N, Mounier N, et al. Rituximab maintenance therapy after autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with relapsed CD20(+) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: final analysis of the collaborative trial in relapsed aggressive lymphoma. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2012; 30(36): 4462-9.
4. Crump M, Kuruvilla J, Couban S, et al. Randomized comparison of gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin versus dexamethasone, cytarabine, and cisplatin chemotherapy before autologous stem-cell transplantation for relapsed and refractory aggressive lymphomas: NCIC-CTG LY.12. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2014; 32(31): 3490-6.
5. International Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Prognostic Factors P. A predictive model for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 1993; 329(14): 987-94.
6. Ruppert AS, Dixon JG, Salles G, et al. International prognostic indices in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a comparison of IPI, R-IPI, and NCCN-IPI. Blood 2020; 135(23): 2041-8.
7. Schmitz N, Zeynalova S, Nickelsen M, et al. CNS International Prognostic Index: A Risk Model for CNS Relapse in Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With R-CHOP. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2016; 34(26): 3150-6.
8. Lenz G, Wright G, Dave SS, et al. Stromal gene signatures in large-B-cell lymphomas. The New England journal of medicine 2008; 359(22): 2313-23.
9. Wright GW, Huang DW, Phelan JD, et al. A Probabilistic Classification Tool for Genetic Subtypes of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma with Therapeutic Implications. Cancer cell 2020; 37(4): 551-68 e14.
10. Chapuy B, Stewart C, Dunford AJ, et al. Molecular subtypes of diffuse large B cell lymphoma are associated with distinct pathogenic mechanisms and outcomes. Nature medicine 2018; 24(5): 679-90.
11. Sesques P, Johnson NA. Approach to the diagnosis and treatment of high-grade B-cell lymphomas with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements. Blood 2017; 129(3): 280-8.
12. Wang L, Li LR, Young KH. New agents and regimens for diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Journal of hematology & oncology 2020; 13(1): 175.
13. Tilly H, Morschhauser F, Sehn LH, et al. Polatuzumab Vedotin in Previously Untreated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2022; 386(4): 351-63.
14. Van Den Neste E, Schmitz N, Mounier N, et al. Outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients relapsing after autologous stem cell transplantation: an analysis of patients included in the CORAL study. Bone marrow transplantation 2017; 52(2): 216-21.
15. Crump M NS, Farooq U, et al. . Outcomes in refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: results from the international SCHOLAR-1 study. Blood. 2017;130(16):1800-1808. Blood 2018; 131(5): 587-8.
16. van Kampen RJ, Canals C, Schouten HC, et al. Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation as salvage therapy for patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma relapsing after an autologous stem-cell transplantation: an analysis of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2011; 29(10): 1342-8.
17. Robinson SP, Boumendil A, Finel H, et al. Autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: efficacy in the rituximab era and comparison to first allogeneic transplants. A report from the EBMT Lymphoma Working Party. Bone marrow transplantation 2016; 51(3): 365-71.
18. Hamadani M, Gopal AK, Pasquini M, et al. Allogeneic transplant and CAR-T therapy after autologous transplant failure in DLBCL: a noncomparative cohort analysis. Blood advances 2022; 6(2): 486-94.
19. Neelapu SS, Locke FL, Bartlett NL, et al. Axicabtagene Ciloleucel CAR-T-Cell Therapy in Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2017; 377(26): 2531-44.
20. Schuster SJ, Bishop MR, Tam CS, et al. Tisagenlecleucel in Adult Relapsed or Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2019; 380(1): 45-56.
21. Abramson JS, Palomba ML, Gordon LI, et al. Lisocabtagene maraleucel for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas (TRANSCEND NHL 001): a multicentre seamless design study. Lancet 2020; 396(10254): 839-52.
22. Nastoupil LJ, Jain MD, Feng L, et al. Standard-of-Care Axicabtagene Ciloleucel for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Results From the US Lymphoma CAR-T Consortium. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020; 38(27): 3119-28.
23. Jacobson CA, Hunter BD, Redd R, et al. Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in the Non-Trial Setting: Outcomes and Correlates of Response, Resistance, and Toxicity. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020; 38(27): 3095-106.
24. Neelapu SS, Locke FL, Bartlett NL, et al. Comparison of 2-year outcomes with CAR-T cells (ZUMA-1) vs salvage chemotherapy in refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Blood advances 2021; 5(20): 4149-55.
25. Maziarz RT, Zhang J, Yang H, et al. Indirect comparison of tisagenlecleucel and historical treatments for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood advances 2022; 6(8): 2536-47.
26. Locke FL, Miklos DB, Jacobson CA, et al. Axicabtagene Ciloleucel as Second-Line Therapy for Large B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2022; 386(7):640-654.
27. Kamdar M, Solomon SR, Arnason JE, et al. Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (liso-cel), a CD19-Directed Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy, Versus Standard of Care (SOC) with Salvage Chemotherapy (CT) Followed By Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation (ASCT) As Second-Line (2L) Treatment in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL): Results from the Randomized Phase 3 Transform. Lancet 2022; 399: 2294–308
28. Bishop MR, Dickinson M, Purtill D, et al. Second-Line Tisagenlecleucel or Standard Care in Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma. The New England journal of medicine 2022; 386(7):629-639
29. Shah NN, Ahn KW, Litovich C, et al. Is autologous transplant in relapsed DLBCL patients achieving only a PET+ PR appropriate in the CAR-T-cell era? Blood 2021; 137(10): 1416-23.
30. Gisselbrecht C, Glass B, Mounier N, et al. Salvage regimens with autologous transplantation for relapsed large B-cell lymphoma in the rituximab era. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2010; 28(27): 4184-90.
31. Shadman M, Pasquini MC, Ahn KW, et al. Autologous Transplant versus Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy for Relapsed DLBCL in Partial Remission. Blood 2022; 3;139(9):1330-133.
32. Vercellino L, Cottereau AS, Casasnovas O, et al. High total metabolic tumor volume at baseline predicts survival independent of response to therapy. Blood 2020; 135(16): 1396-405.
33. Vercellino L, Di Blasi R, Kanoun S, et al. Predictive factors of early progression after CAR-T-cell therapy in relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood advances 2020; 4(22): 5607-15.
34. Barrington SF, Meignan M. Time to Prepare for Risk Adaptation in Lymphoma by Standardizing Measurement of Metabolic Tumor Burden. Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine 2019; 60(8): 1096-102.
35. Kuhnl A, Roddie C, Kirkwood AA, et al. Early FDG-PET response predicts CAR-T failure in large B-cell lymphoma. Blood advances 2022; 6(1): 321-6.
36. Sesques P, Tordo J, Ferrant E, et al. Prognostic Impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Patients With Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Anti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells. Clinical nuclear medicine 2021; 46(8): 627-34.
37. Cheson BD, Fisher RI, Barrington SF, et al. Recommendations for initial evaluation, staging, and response assessment of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the Lugano classification. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2014; 32(27): 3059-68.
38. Eertink JJ, Burggraaff CN, Heymans MW, et al. Optimal timing and criteria of interim PET in DLBCL: a comparative study of 1692 patients. Blood advances 2021; 5(9): 2375-84.
39. Gisselbrecht C. Positron Emission Tomography-Guided Therapy of Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Standard of Care After the PETAL Study? Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2018. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2018; 36 (32): 3272-3273.
40. Kurtz DM, Scherer F, Jin MC, et al. Circulating Tumor DNA Measurements As Early Outcome Predictors in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2018; 36(28): 2845-53.
41. Meriranta L, Alkodsi A, Pasanen A, et al. Molecular features encoded in the ctDNA reveal heterogeneity and predict outcome in high-risk aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Blood 2022; 139(12): 1863-77.
42. Lulla PD. CAR-T cells and autologous transplantation can coexist for DLBCL. Blood 2022; 139(9): 1266-7.