Combination of CD19 and CD22 CAR-T cell therapy in relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic transplantation

Abstract

The prognosis of relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) after allogeneic transplantation is dismal when treated with conventional approaches. While single-target CD19 or CD22 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has achieved high complete remission (CR) rates in refractory/relapsed B-ALL, it could not maintain a durable remission in most patients. To prolong relapse-free survival, we sequentially combined CD19 and CD22 CAR-T cells to treat post-transplant relapsed B-ALL patients with both CD19/CD22 antigen expression on lymphoblasts. Patient-derived donor cells were collected to produce CAR-T cells that were transfected by lentiviral vectors encoding second generation CARs composed of CD3ζ and 4–1BB. The second T-cell infusion was scheduled at least 1 month, and usually within 6 months after the first CAR-T treatment. Twenty-seven adult and pediatric patients, including 11 (41%) with extramedullary diseases (EMD), received the first CD19 CAR-T and 23 (85%) achieved CR. Subsequently, 21 out of 27 patients received the second CD22 CAR-T and were followed-up for a median of 19.7 (range, 5.6–27.3) months; 14 cases remained in CR, seven relapsed and two of them died from disease progression; Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed overall survival and event-free survival rates of 88.5% and 67.5%, respectively, at both 12 months and 18 months. CAR-T associated graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurred in 23% of patients, with 8% new-onset acute GVHD and 15% persistent or worsened pre-existing cGVHD before CAR-T. This combination strategy of sequential CD19 and CD22 CAR-T therapy significantly improved the long-term survival in B-ALL patients who relapsed after transplantation.