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Patients who develop CAR T-cells-related severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune-effector-cells-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) exhibit hemodynamic instability and endothelial activation. The EASIX (Endothelial-Activation and Stress-Index) score [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, U/L) x  creatinine (mg/dL) / platelets (10^9 cells/L)] is a marker of endothelial damage that correlates with outcomes in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Elevated LDH and low platelets have been associated with severe CRS and ICANS, as has C-reactive protein (CRP), while increased creatinine is seen only in a minority of advanced severe CRS cases. We hypothesized that EASIX and two new modified EASIX formulas [simplified-EASIX, which excludes creatinine, and modified-EASIX (m-EASIX), which replaces creatinine with CRP (mg/dL)], calculated peri CAR T-cells infusion, would be associated with development of severe (grade ≥3) CRS and ICANS. We included 118 adults, 53 with B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with 1928z CAR T-cells (NCT01044069) and 65 with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with axicabtagene-ciloleucel or tisagenlecleucel. The three formulas showed similar predictive power for severe CRS and ICANS. However, low platelets and high CRP values were the only variables individually correlated with these toxicities. Moreover, only m-EASIX was a significant predictor of disease response. m-EASIX could discriminate patients who subsequently developed severe CRS preceding the onset of severe symptoms (AUC: at lymphodepletion 80.4%, day -1 73.0%, day +1 75.4%). At day +3, it also had high discriminatory ability for severe ICANS (AUC 73%). We propose m-EASIX as a clinical tool to potentially guide individualized management of patients at higher risk for severe CAR T-cells-related toxicities.

PURPOSE Tumor-intrinsic features may render large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) insensitive to CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T). We hypothesized that TP53 genomic alterations are detrimental to response outcomes in LBCL treated with CD19-CAR-T. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with LBCL treated with CD19-CAR-T were included. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed on pre–CAR-T tumor samples in a subset of patients. Response and survival rates by histologic, cytogenetic, and molecular features were assessed. Within a cohort of newly diagnosed LBCL with genomic and transcriptomic profiling, we studied interactions between cellular pathways and TP53 status. RESULTS We included 153 adults with relapsed or refractory LBCL treated with CD19-CAR-T (axicabtagene ciloleucel [50%], tisagenlecleucel [32%], and lisocabtagene maraleucel [18%]). Outcomes echoed pivotal trials: complete response (CR) rate 54%, median overall survival (OS) 21.1 months (95% CI, 14.8 to not reached), and progression-free survival 6 months (3.4 to 9.7). Histologic and cytogenetic LBCL features were not predictive of CR. In a subset of 82 patients with next-generation sequencing profiling, CR and OS rates were comparable with the unsequenced cohort. TP53 alterations (mutations and/or copy number alterations) were common (37%) and associated with inferior CR and OS rates in univariable and multivariable regression models; the 1-year OS in TP53-altered LBCL was 44% (95% CI, 29 to 67) versus 76% (65 to 89) in wild-type ( P = .012). Transcriptomic profiling from a separate cohort of patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma (n = 562) demonstrated that TP53 alterations are associated with dysregulation of pathways related to CAR-T-cell cytotoxicity, including interferon and death receptor signaling pathway and reduced CD8 T-cell tumor infiltration. CONCLUSION TP53 is a potent tumor-intrinsic biomarker that can inform risk stratification and clinical trial design in patients with LBCL treated with CD19-CAR-T. The role of TP53 should be further validated in independent cohorts.

Individual comorbidities have distinct contributions to non-relapse mortality (NRM) following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). We studied the impact of comorbidities both individually and in combination in a single-center cohort of 573 adult patients who underwent CD34-selected allo-HCT following myeloablative conditioning. Pulmonary disease, moderate to severe hepatic comorbidity, cardiac disease of any type, and renal dysfunction were associated with increased NRM in multivariable Cox regression models. A Simplified Comorbidity Index (SCI) composed of the four comorbidities predictive of NRM, as well as age > 60 years, stratified patients into five groups with a stepwise increase in NRM. NRM rates ranged from 11.4% to 49.9% by stratum, with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.84, 2.59, 3.57, and 5.38. The SCI was also applicable in an external cohort of 230 patients who underwent allo-HCT with unmanipulated grafts following intermediate-intensity conditioning. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the SCI for 1-year NRM was 70.3 and 72.0 over the development and external-validation cohorts, respectively; corresponding AUCs of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) were 61.7 and 65.7. In summary, a small set of comorbidities, aggregated into the Simplified Comorbidity Index, are highly predictive of NRM. The new index stratifies patients into distinct risk groups, was validated in an external cohort, and provides higher discrimination than the HCT-CI.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) can potentially salvage large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) patients experiencing treatment failure after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T). Nonetheless, data on the efficacy and toxicities of alloHCT after receipt of CAR-T are limited. We report a multicenter retrospective study assessing the safety, toxicities, and outcomes of alloHCT in LBCL patients following CAR-T failure. Eighty-eight patients with relapsed, refractory LBCL received an alloHCT following anti-CD19 CAR-T failure. The median number of lines of therapy between CAR-T infusion and alloHCT was 1 (range 0-7). Low intensity conditioning was used in 77% (n=68) and peripheral blood was the most common graft source (86%, n=76). The most common donor types were matched unrelated donor (39%), followed by haploidentical (30%) and matched related donor (26%). Median follow-up of survivors was 15 months (range 1-72). One-year overall survival, progression-free survival, and graft-versus-host disease-free relapse-free survival were 59%, 45%, and 39% respectively. One-year non-relapse mortality and progression/relapse were 22% and 33% respectively. On multivariate analysis,

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