ASH 2021 | Cilta-cel elicits deep and durable responses in patients with multiple myeloma with early relapse

Niels van de Donk, MD, PhD, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, discusses the results of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) treatment for patients with multiple myeloma and early relapse after initial therapy. Early relapse, defined as disease progression ≤12 months after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or start of initial treatment, is associated with poor survival outcomes. In the Phase Ib/II CARTITUDE-1 trial (NCT03548207), cilta-cel was shown to elicit deep and durable responses in heavily pretreated patients and thus, the Phase II CARTITUDE-2 study (NCT4133636) was set up to assess the safety and efficacy of cilta-cel in patients with myeloma in various disease settings. Cohort B enrolled 19 patients with early relapse who were treated with a single cilta-cel infusion. It was shown that these patients achieved deep and durable responses, with a 95% overall response rate and a 12-month progression-free survival rate of around 80%. Cytokine release syndrome and cytopenias were the most common treatment-emergent adverse events; they were typically low grade and manageable. Prof. van de Donk comments on the promise of cilta-cel and how these results support its continued investigation in earlier lines of treatment. This interview took place at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition congress in Atlanta, GA.