Event-free survival prolonged with axi-cel versus standard care as second-line therapy for refractory, relapsed disease<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Dec. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients with refractory or relapsed large B-cell lymphoma, axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) leads to improvements in event-free survival and response compared with standard care, according to a study published online Dec. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em> and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 11 to 14 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n Frederick L. Locke, M.D., from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues conducted a trial involving patients with large B-cell lymphoma that was refractory to or had relapsed no more than 12 months after first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Participants were randomly assigned to either axi-cel or standard care (two or three cycles of chemoimmunotherapy, followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation in those with a response to chemoimmunotherapy; 180 and 179 patients, respectively).<\/strong><\/p>\n The researchers found that at a median follow-up of 24.9 months, median event-free survival was 8.3 and 2.0 months in the axi-cel and standard care groups, respectively; 24-month event-free survival was 41 and 16 percent, respectively (hazard ratio for event or death, 0.40). Overall, 83 and 50 percent of patients in the axi-cel and standard care groups, respectively, had a response, with complete response occurring in 65 and 32 percent, respectively. The estimated overall survival at two years was 61 and 52 percent in the axi-cel and standard care groups, respectively, in an interim analysis. Adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in 91 and 83 percent of those receiving axi-cel or standard care, respectively.<\/p>\n “We observed a clear improvement with axi-cel, as compared with standard care, in event-free survival and the percentage of patients with a response,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, which manufactures axicabtagene ciloleucel and funded the study.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n