Muhammad Bilal Abid, Medical Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Hot off the press
“Female sex is associated with superior outcomes in patients treated with CAR T-cell therapy for Large B-cell Lymphoma”
- We know that sex hormones impact our immune responses and that females mount more vigorous antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses compared to males, following infections or vaccinations.
- Estradiol is associated with upregulation of CD4+ T-cells and dendritic cells, survival of autoreactive B-cells, and TNF production. Additionally, androgens have immunosuppressive properties.
- Gender-based differences with conventional immunotherapy in solid tumors have been shown.
In this first, real-world analysis of over 1,500 patients treated with CD19+CAR T-cells for aggressive large B-cell lymphomas (LBCL), we found a significantly relapse risk and survival in males compared to females. The PFS and survival difference was significant and more pronounced among patients who were younger than 50 years.
The KM curves divorcing each other below tell the story. [A=OS; B=PFS; C=relapse]
Takeaway:
- broad-based sex differences should be included into CAR-T studies.
- Could the power of optimized HRT be harnessed to enhance responses and improve survival in patients receiving T-cell therapies?
- sets premise for prospective validation in future studies of sex-specific differences of CAR T-cell therapy.
Next steps: We are in the process of writing a grant to identify immune correlates and gain mechanistic insights into hormonal impact on cell therapy outcomes.”
Title: Female sex is associated with superior outcomes in patients treated with CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy for large B-cell lymphoma
Authors: John Behman, Nausheen Ahmed, Shahrukh Hashmi, Mahmoud Aljurf, Farrukh Awan, Praveen Ramakishnan, Mumtaz Yaseen, Mohamed A. Kharfan-Dabaja, Sairah Ahmed, Muhammad Bilal Abid
Read the Full Article.
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