Lymphoma

Experts at the 2025 ICE-T Symposium reviewed CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and gene therapy across myeloma, lymphoma, autoimmune disease, and solid tumors, emphasizing safety and access.

In a phase 1 trial, CD19/CD20/CD22 CAR T cells produced complete responses in 83% of patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Experts split into 2 teams and discussed the latest data, pressing questions, and clinical scenarios regarding CAR T-cell therapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

“Those of us who work with NK cells have no doubt that they are incredibly powerful at killing cancer cells,” said Veronika Bachanova, MD, PhD.

“No one should be excluded from any clinical trial,” said Paul G. Rubinstein, MD, regarding patients with HIV-associated cancers in cooperative group studies.

Adding fixed-duration epcoritamab to R-CHOP reduced the risk of progression or death by 51% in patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL.

The approval expands the indication of pirtobrutinib to patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma with no known 17p deletion.

“To me, the biggest differentiator might be how the patient wants to experience care,” said Krish Patel, MD, on treatment options for patients with lymphoma.

Health Canada approved epcoritamab plus lenalidomide and rituximab for relapsed/refractory grade 1 to 3a follicular lymphoma, backed by the EPCORE FL-1 trial.

“[E]ven if patients relapse following an allogeneic transplant, donor lymphocyte infusions can be incredibly helpful,” said Mary Jo Lechowicz, MD.

Posters highlighted sex-based differences in aggressive B-cell NHL, third-line therapies in aggressive BCL, and real-world safety with CD20/CD3 bispecifics.

SOHO 2026 sessions covered chemoimmunotherapy in frontline DLBCL, treatment selection via molecular classifiers, and bispecific antibodies for unfit patients.

Jasmine Zain, MD, emphasized the importance of good patient counseling when outlining the potential risks of secondary T-cell malignancies following CAR T-cell therapy.

The IND clearance for IASO208, a CD20-targeted in vivo CAR-T therapy requiring no leukapheresis or lymphodepletion, enables advancement of a phase 1b trial.

Immunochemotherapy, bispecifics, and next-generation BTK inhibitors dominated discussion of ENKTL, MZL, and Waldenström macroglobulinemia at a SOHO session.

Tumor-informed ctDNA testing with the Signatera assay outperformed standard PET/CT imaging across B- and T-cell lymphoma subtypes.

Final phase 1/1b data for soquelitinib in T-cell lymphoma showed a 37.5% ORR and a 28.1-month median OS in patients who received 1 to 3 prior lines of therapy.

In a SEER-based cohort of more than 20,000 adults, 5-year Hodgkin lymphoma survivors had nearly double the all-cause mortality of the general population.

The FDA has cleared an investigational new drug application for C-CAR039, a CD19/CD20 bispecific CAR T-cell therapy, in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

A multidisciplinary panel discussed CAR-T candidacy and second-line treatment sequencing for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL.

In a phase 1 dose-escalation trial, duvelisib plus azacitidine produced a 46% overall response rate in relapsed/refractory T-cell lymphoma.

In a phase 1b/2 trial, epcoritamab plus bendamustine/rituximab produced a 96% complete response rate in patients with untreated follicular lymphoma.

Cema-cel received RMAT and fast track designations for first-line consolidation therapy in MRD-positive large B-cell lymphoma based on phase 2 ALPHA3 data.

"I can’t make [treatment] decisions for you, but I can give you realistic expectations," said Herbert Lepor, MD, of NYU Langone Health.

A multidisciplinary panel discussed second-line CAR T-cell candidacy, real-world referral barriers, and the management of delayed toxicities in DLBCL.