Racial and Ethnic Differences Among CAR T-cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma Patients

Dr. Lauren Peres presents an abstract on the racial and ethnic differences in clinical outcomes among multiple myeloma patients treated with CAR T-cell therapy.

Abstract title:

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Clinical Outcomes Among Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated with CAR T-cell Therapy

Purpose of the trial:

Recent FDA approval of idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), offers renewed hope to a patient population with incurable disease. Although there were noteworthy treatment responses observed in the pivotal KarMMa clinical trial of ide-cel, racial and ethnic minority groups were underrepresented, and little is known regarding the safety and efficacy of ide-cel in diverse patient populations. To address this critical gap in knowledge, we used data from a newly formed consortium of institutions treating high volumes of RRMM patients with standard-of-care (SOC) ide-cel, the U.S. MM Cellular Therapy Consortium, to investigate racial and ethnic differences in safety, efficacy, and outcomes among patients treated with SOC ide-cel.

Video summary:

Data was pooled from 215 RRMM patients treated with SOC ide-cel across 11 sites. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests were used to investigate differences in patient and clinical characteristics, standard inflammatory laboratory values (e.g., C-reactive protein [CRP], ferritin), immune-mediated toxicities (cytokine release syndrome [CRS], immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome [ICANS]), cytopenias, and treatment responses by race and ethnicity. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank tests were used to examine overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) by race and ethnicity.

Conclusions:

We observed racial and ethnic differences in systemic inflammation, safety, and PFS among RRMM patients treated with ide-cel CAR T-cell therapy in the SOC setting. As a greater volume of patients are treated with CAR T therapy and follow-up time matures, we will have increased power to further investigate racial and ethnic differences in patient and clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes.

Trial information:

ASH 2022: Abstract #252 (https://ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webprogram/Paper158478.html)

Authors:

Lauren C. Peres, PhD, MPH, Laura B. Oswald, PhD, Christen Dillard, MD, Gabriel De Avila, BS, Taiga Nishihori, MD, Brandon J. Blue, MD, Ciara L. Freeman, MSc, FRCPath, MBBChir, MRCP, Frederick L. Locke, MD, Melissa Alsina, MD, Omar Alexis Castaneda Puglianini, MD, Leyla O. Shune, MD, Douglas W. Sborov, MD, Charlotte B Wagner, PharmD, Danai Dima, MD, Hamza Hashmi, MD, James Davis, PharmD, M. Hakan Kocoglu, MD, Shebli Atrash, MD, Gary Simmons, DO, Nilesh Kalariya, Christopher J. Ferreri, MD, Aishwarya Sannareddy, MBBS, Aimaz Afrough, MD, Peter M. Voorhees, MD, Jack Khouri, MD, Joseph P. McGuirk, DO, Surbhi Sidana, MD, Doris K. Hansen, MD and Krina Patel, MD, MSc