Celgene announces interim results of REVLIMID study on CLL
March 29, 2017
Although all of the patients' T cell counts returned to the normal range after treatment, not all patients responded equally well to the T cell therapy. Patients who had a complete response to chemotherapy had a more robust T cell recovery than did patients who had only a partial response. "We believe that having a complete remission of CLL seems to create a larger space for the normal immune cells to expand into," Schuster says. "Somehow, the cancer seems to interfere with recovery of the immune system."
In addition to quashing the complications ordinarily associated with treatment, the team hopes that the restored immune system will help keep the cancer in check. At a median follow-up of 14 months after T cell infusion, two-thirds of the patients remain progression-free. Longer follow up will be needed to compare treatment results for patients receiving T cells with published results for patients receiving similar chemotherapy without T cell support.
What is clear from the small trial is that patients can safely stop prophylactic antibiotic therapy after their T cell numbers rebound. Physicians regularly keep CLL patients on extended prophylactic antibiotic therapy to help stave off infections. In this study, though, patients stopped taking antibiotics about a month after receiving T cells without developing significant infections.
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine