CD19 CAR-T in relapsed t(8;21) AML: a single-center prospective phase II clinical trial
Yin J, Cui QY, Dai HP, Qu CJ, Li Z, Kang LQ, Cui W, Tian XP, Zhu XM, Yu L, Wu DP, Tang XW
Approximately 78.3% of patients with t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) express CD19, making it a potential target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy focused on CD19. This prospective phase II trial (NCT03896854) evaluated the safety and efficacy of CD19 CAR-T cell treatment in 10 relapsed CD19-positive t(8;21) AML patients. This study enrolled eight patients with hematologic and two with molecular relapsed AML. The median bone marrow blast percentage was 12.4% (0.1-50.2%), and the blasts exhibited a median CD19 positivity of 55.7% (22.6-97.1%). Genetic profiling revealed TP53 alterations (n = 1), KIT (n = 3) and FLT3-ITD (n = 1) mutations. After lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC), 5-20 × 106 cells per kilogram of CAR-T cells were administered. All patients experienced grade 3 or higher hematologic toxicities following tumor-reduction chemotherapy and the FC regimen, which were managed for a median of two weeks after CAR-T treatment. Non-hematological toxicities were mild and reversible. Eight patients presented with mild (grade 1-2) cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and one experienced grade 3 CRS. The immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome was not observed. All patients achieved complete remission (CR) after CAR-T, with 60% achieving a molecularly MRD-negative CR. RUNX1::RUNX1T1 fusion transcript levels demonstrated a median 2.5-log reduction (range: 0.7-4.5 log; P = 0.002). At a median follow-up of 64.6 months (range: 11.2-88.8 months), the median overall survival and leukemia-free survival were 11.6 and 3.8 months, respectively. The 12-month cumulative incidence of relapse was 53.3%. These findings indicated that CD19 CAR-T was a safe and effective option for relapsed CD19-positive t(8;21) AML.
© 2025. The Author(s).
Journal of hematology & oncology, 2025-05-08