Chimeric Antigen Receptor–Engineered T Cell Therapy in Lymphoma

Purpose of Review: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are a form of adoptive therapy employing autologous T cells engineered with an artificial receptor, able to recognize tumor antigens through an HLA-independent mechanism. We will review data on safety and efficacy outcomes with CAR T cell therapy in lymphomas. Recent Findings: Multicenter trials evaluating three CAR T cell products targeting CD19 have shown that they are highly effective and induce durable remissions in a substantial proportion of patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The most common toxicities were cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. Summary: Two anti-CD19 CAR T cell products were approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B cell NHL. Ongoing research is aimed at investigating their use in earlier lines of therapy and in other B cell lymphomas, improving CAR T cell efficacy and safety, and evaluating novel targets.