Infection after CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy for large B cell lymphoma: Real-world analysis from CIBMTR
Wudhikarn K, Herr MM, Chen M, Martens MJ, Baird JH, Gowda L, Rangarajan HG, Abid MB, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Williams KM, Ganguly S, Young JH, Sharma A, Fatobene G, Jain T, Kanakry CG, Modi D, Grover NS, Salem B, Batista MV, Vergidis P, Yin DE, Beitinjane
Infection is increasingly recognized as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) receiving CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. The current study analyzed the natural history, risk factors, and outcomes of infection in 3350 R/R LBCL patients receiving commercial CD19 CAR T-cell (n=2804 axicabtagene ciloleucel, n=546 tisagenlecleucel) from December 2017 to June 2022. Infection developed in 834 (24.9%) patients within 100 days post-infusion, resulting in an infection density of 0.43 per 100 patient-days and a 100-day cumulative incidence of 22%. Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections were recorded in 527 (15.7%), 374 (11.2%), and 108 (3.2%) patients, respectively, with corresponding infection densities of 0.23, 0.15, and 0.04 per 100 patient-days. After a 24-month median follow-up, 1482 (44%) patients had died, with infection as the primary cause in 173 cases (12%). The 100-day infection-related mortality (IRM) was 1.6% (95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.0%). Patients with Karnofsky score ≤80, infection history pre-CAR-T, axicabtagene ciloleucel therapy, severe cytokine release syndrome (grade ≥3), and severe immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (grade ≥3) had increased infection risk. Infections within 100 days were an independent risk factor for inferior overall survival beyond day 100 after CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. In conclusion, study results show a significant incidence of infection and IRM in patients with R/R LBCL treated with CD19 CAR T-cell. Furthermore, results identify patients at heightened risk for infection, offering insights to guide potential interventions aimed at mitigating infection and improving patient outcomes after CAR T-cell therapy.
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Blood advances, 2025-05-30