Division of Neuro-Oncology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Blood. 2019 May 16;133(20):2212-2221. doi: 10.1182/blood-2018-12-893396. Epub 2019 Feb 26.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have emerged as a promising class of cell-based immunotherapy in refractory malignancies. Neurotoxicity represents a common and potentially life-threatening adverse effect of CAR T cells, and clinical experience is limited. Here, we describe the clinical presentation and management of 25 adult patients who presented with neurotoxic syndromes after CAR T-cell therapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital. This cohort includes 24 patients treated with CD19-directed CAR T cells for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 23) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 1), and 1 patient treated with α-fetoprotein-directed CAR T cells for hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 1). Twelve of the 25 patients (48%) developed grade 1-2 neurotoxicity and 13 patients (52%) presented with grade 3-4 neurotoxicity. We found that lower platelet counts at time of CAR T-cell infusion were associated with more severe neurotoxicity ( = .030). Cytokine release syndrome occurred in 24 of 25 patients (96%). Serum levels of ferritin peaked with onset of neurologic symptoms, and higher ferritin levels were associated with higher neurotoxicity grade. Grade 3-4 neurotoxicity correlated negatively with overall survival (OS) ( = .013). Median OS of the entire cohort was 54.7 weeks. Eight patients (32%) with grade 3-4 neurotoxicity were deceased at database closure, whereas none died with neurotoxicity grade 1-2. High pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase was frequently encountered in lymphoma patients with grade 3-4 neurotoxicity and correlated negatively with progression-free survival ( = .048). We did not find evidence that steroid use ≥7 days altered the patient's outcome when compared with <7 days of steroids. Management of CAR T cell-mediated neurotoxicity warrants evaluation in prospective clinical trials.
嵌合抗原受体 (CAR) T 细胞已成为难治性恶性肿瘤细胞免疫治疗的一种有前途的方法。神经毒性是 CAR T 细胞的一种常见且潜在危及生命的不良反应,临床经验有限。在这里,我们描述了在马萨诸塞州综合医院接受 CAR T 细胞治疗后出现神经毒性综合征的 25 例成年患者的临床表现和治疗方法。该队列包括 24 例接受 CD19 靶向 CAR T 细胞治疗的非霍奇金淋巴瘤(n = 23)和急性淋巴细胞白血病(n = 1)患者,以及 1 例接受α-胎蛋白靶向 CAR T 细胞治疗的肝细胞癌(n = 1)患者。25 例患者中有 12 例(48%)发生 1-2 级神经毒性,13 例(52%)发生 3-4 级神经毒性。我们发现 CAR T 细胞输注时血小板计数较低与更严重的神经毒性相关(= 0.030)。25 例患者中有 24 例(96%)发生细胞因子释放综合征。铁蛋白血清水平在出现神经系统症状时达到峰值,且更高的铁蛋白水平与更高的神经毒性分级相关。3-4 级神经毒性与总生存期(OS)呈负相关(= 0.013)。整个队列的中位 OS 为 54.7 周。数据库关闭时,8 例(32%)3-4 级神经毒性患者死亡,而 1-2 级神经毒性患者无一例死亡。在 3-4 级神经毒性的淋巴瘤患者中经常发现高预处理乳酸脱氢酶,与无进展生存期(PFS)呈负相关(= 0.048)。与使用类固醇<7 天的患者相比,我们没有发现使用类固醇≥7 天改变患者结局的证据。需要在前瞻性临床试验中评估 CAR T 细胞介导的神经毒性的治疗方法。
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