Chimeric antigen receptor‐T cell therapy shows similar efficacy and toxicity in patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma aged 70 and older compared to younger patients: A multicenter cohort study

Abstract

CD19‐directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)‐T cell therapy has become a standard treatment for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL). While the benefits of CAR‐T cell treatment are clear in the general patient population, there remains a relative scarcity of real‐world evidence regarding its efficacy and toxicity in patients (pts) aged ≥70 years with DLBCL. We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis including 172 r/r DLBCL pts with CAR‐T cell treatment, axicabtagene ciloleucel or tisagenlecleucel, between 2019 and 2023 at three tertiary centers. Pts were grouped by age at CAR‐T infusion (<70 vs. ≥70 years). Subsequently, descriptive and survival analyses, including propensity score matching, were performed to compare outcomes between both age groups. We identified 109 pts aged <70 and 63 pts aged ≥70 years. Overall response rates for both age groups were comparable (77.7% vs. 78.3%; p = 0.63). With a median follow‐up of 8.3 months, median progression‐free survival was 10.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.5–21.8) and 11.1 months (95% CI: 4.9–NR) (p = 0.93) for both cohorts. Median overall survival reached 21.8 months (95% CI: 11.8–NR) and 34.4 months (95% CI: 10.1–NR) (p = 0.97), respectively. No significant differences in the incidence of cytokine release syndrome (p = 0.53) or grade ≥3 neurotoxicity (p = 0.56) were observed. Relapse and nonrelapse mortality were not significantly different between both groups. Our findings provide additional support that CAR‐T cell therapy is feasible and effective in patients with r/r DLBCL aged 70 years or older, demonstrating outcomes comparable to those observed in younger patients. CAR‐T cell therapy should be not withheld for elderly patients with r/r DLBCL.