Dr. Jain on the Utility of UCART22 in Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Nitin Jain, MD, associate professor in the department of leukemia, division of cancer medicine, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the preliminary results from the phase 1 BALLI-01 study (NCT04150497), which investigated UCART22, a genetically modified allogeneic T-cell therapy, in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Data from the trial, which were presented during the 2021 ASH Annual Meeting, demonstrated the activity of UCART22 in that the product increased CAR T-cell persistence and expansion, according to Jain. Some patients achieved clinical responses to the agent; this included 2 out of 6 patients who had a bone marrow blast reduction that was less than 5% after receiving UCART22, Jain adds. 

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) are notable adverse effects associated with CAR T-cell therapies, Jain adds. However, only 3 of the 6 patients who received UCART22 experienced grade 1 or 2 CRS, and no cases of ICANS were reported, Jain notes. One patient had skin graft-vs-host disease, which is also known to be associated with CAR T-cell agents, but this toxicity was found to be easily manageable, Jain concludes.