Retrospective analysis of T cell malignancies after CAR T cell therapy in France

The risk of T cell malignancies after CAR T cell therapy is a concern, although the true incidence remains unclear. The DESCAR-T registry database encompasses all pediatric and adult patients with hematologic malignancies who received CAR T cell therapy in France since 1 July 2018. Retrospective analysis of the database found that among 3,066 patients (2,536 B cell lymphoma, 162 B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 368 multiple myeloma) only one patient (0.03%) developed a T cell malignancy, three years after receiving tisagenlecleucel therapy for diffuse large B cell lymphoma. This was associated with integration of a CAR clone into the tumor suppressor gene PLAAT4. The authors conclude that these findings indicate a very low risk of T cell malignancy after CAR T cell therapy.