Liso-cel for R/R LBCL: 5-year follow-up of the pivotal TRANSCEND NHL 001 study

The 5-year survival outcomes from the pivotal, multicenter TRANSCEND NHL 001 study (NCT02631044) and the long-term follow-up (LTFU) study (NCT03435796) evaluating lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) after ≥2 previous lines of systemic treatment were published in Blood by Abramson et al.

Key data: In the total efficacy-evaluable set (n = 257), median overall survival (OS) was 27.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 16.2–47.3), with an estimated 5-year OS of 38% (95% CI, 32–45). Median disease-specific survival (DSS) was 67.8 months (95% CI, 23.5–not reached [NR]), with an estimated 5-year DSS of 52% (95% CI, 45–59). In the efficacy-evaluable LTFU subset (n = 84), median OS and DSS were both NR; estimated 5-year OS and DSS were 78% (95% CI, 67–85.5) and 92% (95% CI, 84–96.5), respectively. Among liso-cel-treated patients with post-treatment-emergent (post-TE) period data (n = 249), 6% had Grade ≥3 infections and 8% had second primary malignancies (SPMs). In the LTFU subset, 2% had Grade ≥3 infections and 2% had SPMs. 

Key learning: In these studies, liso-cel demonstrated durable efficacy, with no new safety signals and low rates of post-TE adverse events. These findings support the curative potential of liso-cel as a treatment option in patients with heavily pretreated R/R LBCL.