Management of a patient with mantle cell lymphoma who developed severe neurotoxicity after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in ZUMA-2

J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Oct;8(2):e001114. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001114.

Abstract

Cerebral edema following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy can be fatal. ZUMA-2 is a pivotal phase 2, multicenter study evaluating KTE-X19, an autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma. We describe a 65-year-old patient in ZUMA-2 who developed cerebral edema following CAR T-cell therapy and had complete recovery after multimodality clinical intervention including rabbit antithymocyte globulin (ATG). Biomarker results show early and robust CAR T-cell expansion and related induction of inflammatory cytokines, followed by rapid declines in CAR T-cell and proinflammatory cytokine levels after ATG administration. This clinical profile highlights a potential relevance of ATG in treating severe CAR T-cell-related neurotoxicity.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02601313.

Keywords: case reports; chimeric antigen.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell / complications*
  • Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell / drug therapy*
  • Male
  • Receptors, Chimeric Antigen / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Receptors, Chimeric Antigen

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02601313