Yan Leyfman, Medical Correspondent at OncLive, Freelance, Co-Founder and Executive Director of MedNews Week, shared on LinkedIn:
“In relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, choosing between CAR-T and bispecific antibodies may involve more than comparing response rates or survival.
It also means considering how much time patients spend receiving care.
A multicenter retrospective study across 17 U.S. academic centers compared standard-of-care CAR-T (141 patients) with CD20×CD3 bispecific antibodies (87 patients) in 228 patients treated in the third-line or later setting.
CAR-T was associated with longer progression-free survival.
Median PFS was not reached with CAR-T, compared with approximately 581–584 days with bispecific antibodies, across both the second-line relapse (LOT2) and third-or-later-line (LOT3+) cohorts.
This advantage persisted after accounting for differences in baseline patient characteristics, including propensity matching.
However, overall survival did not differ between treatment groups.
The other important finding was time toxicity-the burden of time spent interacting with the healthcare system.
During the first year, patients receiving CAR-T had more physical healthcare contact days than those receiving bispecific antibodies:
LOT2: 58 vs. 44 days
LOT3+: 69 vs. 49 days
These findings highlight a meaningful trade-off: CAR-T was associated with better disease control, while bispecific antibodies were associated with fewer healthcare contact days.
For patients with R/R follicular lymphoma, treatment selection is therefore not simply about which therapy controls disease longer.
It is also about treatment burden, time away from daily life, and individual priorities.
As therapeutic options expand, incorporating time toxicity alongside PFS and OS may help make treatment sequencing more patient-centered.”
Title: Comparative survival and time toxicity outcomes of CAR-T versus bispecific antibody therapies in relapsed/refractory FL
Authors: Ajay Major, Diana Abbott, Jordan Snyder, Nausheen Ahmed, Alline Nogueira Serodio, Jose Caetano Villasboas, John Sharp, Timothy J Voorhees, Samin Houshyar, Danielle S Wallace, Arjab Adhikari, Dilan Patel, Christopher Mwaniki Wanjiku, Charlotte B. Wagner, Allison M Bock, Taylor R Brooks, Haya Al Any, Mazie Tsang, Mohamed Rajab, Madiha Iqbal, Nidhi Desai, Supriya Gupta, Nicole Altomare, Reem Karmali, Daniel Trotier, Priyanka A. Pophali, Edd Ricker, Hua-Jay J. Cherng, Jessica A. Chicola, Pallawi Torka, Jennifer C. Keenan, Asaad Trabolsi, Jonathan H Schatz, Arjun Gupta, Brian T. Hill
You can also read: Follicular Lymphoma: EHA 2026 Guidelines Move Chemotherapy-Free Combinations to First Relapse.
