The phase 2 ZUMA-5 trial included 159 patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma who had received at least 2 prior lines of therapy1. Participants with follicular lymphoma (n=127) or marginal zone lymphoma (n=31) were exposed to the CAR T-cell therapy axi-cel. Dr Sattva Neelapu (MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX, USA) presented the findings after 5 years of follow-up2.
The overall response rate (ORR) was 90% and the complete response rate was 75%. “These rates were even slightly higher in patients with follicular lymphoma, at 94% and 79%, respectively,” added Dr Neelapu. The median duration of response was 60.4 months and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 62.2 months.
Dr Neelapu highlighted that the lymphoma-specific PFS was excellent, with only 2 participants showing progressive disease beyond 30 months post-leukapheresis. Moreover, the median overall survival was still not reached and the rate of lymphoma-specific death was 15.6% in those with follicular lymphoma. Finally, there were no new drug-related safety issues.
“Axi-cel continues to demonstrate durable responses among these patients with follicular or marginal zone lymphoma,” concluded Dr Neelapu. “This data supports that axi-cel is an efficacious approach for this population and has curative potential in patients with follicular lymphoma.”
Medical writing support was provided by Robert van den Heuvel.