Dr Riedell on the Long-Term Efficacy of Tisa-Cel in R/R Follicular Lymphoma

“[These data] cement the activity of CAR T-cell therapy in the third-line setting. For select patients, this can be an attractive treatment option that may lead to a long remission duration.”

Peter Riedell, MD, an associate professor of medicine at University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed 5-year data from the final landmark analysis of the phase 2 ELARA trial (NCT03568461) investigating tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel; Kymriah) in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.

Riedell began by emphasizing the significance of the study’s 5-year follow-up period, noting that these mature data provide a critical window into the durability of responses with tisa-cel in this population. In reviewing the trial’s primary results, Riedell highlighted that the study population experienced a high overall response rate. Furthermore, clinical data indicated a median progression-free survival of 53.2 months (95% CI, 18.2-not evaluable), a metric he characterized as a significant finding for this patient population. These data demonstrate that a single infusion of tisa-cel can achieve both rapid and substantial clinical activity, he reported.

Another finding noted by Riedell was the lack of disease progression observed after the 36-month mark among patients who were in response at that time. He explained that this stability in the data indicates that the responses achieved with tisa-cel have been both deep and highly durable. Since no patients in the study relapsed after 3 years of follow-up, Riedell suggested that there is now a distinct signal for curative potential with this type of therapy.

Riedell concluded that these results effectively cement the role and activity of CAR T-cell therapy in the third-line setting for patients with follicular lymphoma. He stated that for select patients, this approach remains a highly attractive treatment option that can result in long-term remission durations, offering hope for a cure in a disease context where such outcomes were previously difficult to secure.

Disclosures: Riedell reported Board of Directors or advisory committee membership for AbbVie, Novartis, Celgene/BMS, Roche/Genentech, Kite/Gilead, BeiGene, ADC Therapeutics, and Genmab; receiving research funding from AbbVie, Kite/Gilead, Novartis, Celgene/BMS, Xencor, Cellectis, Fate Therapeutics, and Genentech/Roche; and performing consulting roles for Novartis, Janssen, Celgene/BMS, Pharmacyclics, CVS Caremark, Pfizer, Miltenyi, Genentech/Roche, and AbbVie.