BACKGROUNDThe prognosis of patients with early relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after the receipt of first-line chemoimmunotherapy is poor. METHODSIn this international, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients with large B-cell lymphoma that was refractory to or had relapsed no more than 12 months after first-line chemoimmunotherapy to receive axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel, an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy) or standard care (two or three cycles of investigator-selected, protocol-defined chemoimmunotherapy, followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with a response to the chemoimmunotherapy). The primary end point was event-free survival according to blinded central review. Key secondary end points were response and overall survival. Safety was also assessed. RESULTSA total of 180 patients were randomly assigned to receive axi-cel and 179 to receive standard care. The primary end-point analysis of event-free survival showed that axi-cel therapy was superior to standard care. At a median follow-up of 24.9 months, the median event-free survival was 8.3 months in the axi-cel group and 2.0 months in the standard-care group, and the 24-month event-free survival was 41% and 16%, respectively (hazard ratio for event or death, 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.31 to 0.51; P<0.001). A response occurred in 83% of the patients in the axi-cel group and in 50% of those in the standard-care group (with a complete response in 65% and 32%, respectively). In an interim analysis, the estimated overall survival at 2 years was 61% in the axi-cel group and 52% in the standardcare group. Adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in 91% of the patients who received axi-cel and in 83% of those who received standard care. Among patients who received axi-cel, grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome occurred in 6% and grade 3 or higher neurologic events in 21%. No deaths related to cytokine release syndrome or neurologic events occurred. CONCLUSIONSAxi-cel therapy led to significant improvements, as compared with standard care, in event-free survival and response, with the expected level of high-grade toxic effects. (Funded by Kite; ZUMA-7 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03391466.

The relationship between intestinal microbiota composition and acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic blood/marrow transplantation (allo BMT) is not well understood. Intestinal bacteria have long been thought to contribute to GVHD pathophysiology, but recent animal studies in non-transplant settings have found that anti-inflammatory effects are mediated by certain subpopulations of intestinal commensals. Hypothesizing that a more nuanced relationship may exist between the intestinal bacteria and GVHD, we evaluated the fecal bacterial composition of 64 patients 12 days after BMT. We found that increased bacterial diversity was associated with reduced GVHD-related mortality. Furthermore, harboring increased amounts of bacteria belonging to the genus Blautia was associated with reduced GVHD lethality in this cohort and was confirmed in another independent cohort of 51 patients from the same institution. Blautia abundance was also associated with improved overall survival. We evaluated the abundance of Blautia with respect to clinical factors and found that loss of Blautia was associated with: 1) treatment with antibiotics that inhibit anaerobic bacteria and 2) receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for longer durations. We conclude that increased abundance of commensal bacteria belonging to the Blautia genus is associated with reduced lethal GVHD and improved overall survival.

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SUMMARY The gut microbiota influences development 1 – 3 and homeostasis 4 – 7 of the mammalian immune system, and is associated with human inflammatory- 8 and immune diseases 9 , 10 as well as patients’ responses to immunotherapy 11 – 14 . Still, our understanding of how gut bacteria modulate the immune system remains limited, particularly in humans where a lack of deliberate manipulations makes inference challenging. Here we study hundreds of hospitalized—and closely monitored—cancer patients receiving hematopoietic cell transplantation as they recover from chemotherapy and stem cell engraftment. This aggressive treatment causes large shifts in both circulatory immune cell and microbiota populations, allowing the relationships between the two to be studied simultaneously. Analysis of observed daily changes in circulating neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte counts and >10,000 longitudinal microbiota samples from patients revealed consistent associations between gut bacteria and immune cell dynamics. High-resolution clinical metadata and Bayesian inference allowed us to compare the effects of bacterial genera relative to those of immunomodulatory medications, revealing a considerable influence of the gut microbiota—in concert and over time—on systemic immune cell dynamics. Our analysis establishes and quantifies the link between the gut microbiota and the human immune system, with implications for microbiota-driven modulation of immunity.

Tisagenlecleucel is a CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved for treatment of pediatric and young adult patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The initial experience with tisagenlecleucel in a real-world setting from a cellular therapy registry is presented here. As of January 2020, 511 patients were enrolled from 73 centers, and 410 patients had follow-up data reported (ALL, n = 255; NHL, n = 155), with a median follow-up of 13.4 and 11.9 months for ALL and NHL, respectively. Among patients with ALL, the initial complete remission (CR) rate was 85.5%. Twelve-month duration of response (DOR), event-free survival, and overall survival (OS) rates were 60.9%, 52.4%, and 77.2%, respectively. Among adults with NHL, the best overall response rate was 61.8%, including an initial CR rate of 39.5%. Six-month DOR, progression-free survival, and OS rates were 55.3%, 38.7%, and 70.7%, respectively. Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity were reported in 11.6% and 7.5% of all patients, respectively. Similar outcomes were observed in patients with in-specification and out-of-specification products as a result of viability &lt;80% (range, 61% to 79%). This first report of tisagenlecleucel in the real-world setting demonstrates outcomes with similar efficacy and improved safety compared with those seen in the pivotal trials.

CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is an effective treatment for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In addition to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity (ICANS), B cell aplasia and hypogammaglobulinemia are common toxicities predisposing these patients to infections. We analyzed 60 patients with DLBCL treated with FDA-approved CD19 CAR T cells and report the incidence, risk factors, and management of infections during the first year after treatment. A total of 101 infectious events were observed, including 25 mild, 51 moderate, 23 severe, 1 life-threatening, and 1 fatal infection. Bacteria were the most common causative pathogens. The cumulative incidence of overall, bacterial, severe bacterial, viral, and fungal infection at 1 year were 63.3%, 57.2%, 29.6%, 44.7%, and 4%, respectively. In multivariate analyses, the use of systemic corticosteroids for the management of CRS or ICANS was associated with an increased risk of infections and prolonged admission. Impaired performance status and history of infections within 30 days before CAR T cell therapy was a risk factor for severe bacterial infection. In conclusion, infections were common within the first 60 days after CAR T cell therapy, however, they were not associated with an increased risk of death.

The major causes of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation (allo-HCT) are relapse, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and infection. We have reported previously that alterations in the intestinal flora are associated with GVHD, bacteremia, and reduced overall survival after allo-HCT. Because intestinal bacteria are potent modulators of systemic immune responses, including antitumor effects, we hypothesized that components of the intestinal flora could be associated with relapse after allo-HCT. MethodsThe intestinal microbiota of 541 patients admitted for allo-HCT was profiled by means of 16S ribosomal sequencing of prospectively collected stool samples. We examined the relationship between abundance of microbiota species or groups of related species and relapse/progression of disease during 2 years of follow-up time after allo-HCT by using cause-specific proportional hazards in a retrospective discovery-validation cohort study. ResultsHigher abundance of a bacterial group composed mostly of Eubacterium limosum in the validation set was associated with a decreased risk of relapse/progression of disease (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82 per 10-fold increase in abundance; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.95; P = .009). When the patients were categorized according to presence or absence of this bacterial group, presence also was associated with less relapse/progression of disease (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.87; P = .01). The 2-year cumulative incidences of relapse/progression among patients with and without this group of bacteria were 19.8% and 33.8%, respectively. These associations remained significant in multivariable models and were strongest among recipients of T-cell-replete allografts. ConclusionWe found associations between the abundance of a group of bacteria in the intestinal flora and relapse/progression of disease after allo-HCT. These might serve as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets to prevent relapse and improve survival after allo-HCT.