The researchers found treatment options for patients with blood cancers who relapsed after CAR-T treatment

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the United States have identified therapies that promise to help patients
with relapsed multiple myeloma.
These patients had tried CAR-T immunotherapy, which was effective at first, but relapsed
after a while.

CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy) fights multiple myeloma by modifying T cells in the lab, which are able to find and destroy cancer cells
.
CAR-T is a revolutionary treatment for this deadly hematological tumor, but some patients relapse after receiving CAR-T treatment and then have no good treatment options
.

The researchers studied a group of multiple myeloma patients who received a CAR-T cell therapy
called BCMA-targeted.
This CAR-T cell therapy targets BCMA proteins on the patient's plasma cells to fight multiple myeloma
.
Although the initial results are good, the cancer returns
after a while.

They report that other therapies in which T cells are involved, including bispecific antibodies and other types of CAR-T cell therapy, appear to be able to inhibit cancer progression
in these recurrent patients for the longest time.
The findings were published Nov.
3 in
the journal Blood.

Corresponding author Dr.
Samir Parekh said: "The results of this study will serve as a benchmark for future prospective clinical studies in order to improve the outcomes of those patients whose disease progresses after CAR-T therapy
.
Dr.
Samir Parekh is Director of Multiple Myeloma Translational Research and co-leader
of the Cancer Clinical Investigation Program at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

"This is the first study to report the effects of
different treatment regimens on a large cohort of patients who relapse after anti-BCMA CAR-T treatment.
This is one of the most urgent but unmet needs for myeloma patients, and as such, the hematology research community is of great interest
.
”

This retrospective study analyzed disease characteristics in 79 patients with multiple myeloma, treatment given after recurrence, and patient response to
treatment.
So far, the median overall survival of patients is about 17.
9 months
.
The patients were treated
at Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Stem cell transplantation has also shown some efficacy
in these patients.
Studies have found that depending on the characteristics of the individual patient's cancer, other drug combinations can also be used, and they show different efficacy
.

Sham Mailankody, associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said: "We are encouraged that follow-up with another new immunotherapy, such as a second CAR-T cell therapy or bispecific antibodies, is feasible and elicits a lasting response
in patients.
We look forward to continuing this work to unlock the full potential
of immunotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma.
" ”

Original text search:

Oliver Van Oekelen, Karthik Nath, et al.
Interventions and outcomes of multiple myeloma patients receiving salvage treatment after BCMA-directed CAR T therapy.
Blood, 2022; DOI: 10.
1182/blood.
2022017848