Impact of race and social determinants of health on outcomes in patients with aggressive B-cell NHL treated with CAR-T therapy.

ABSTRACT: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy is an effective therapy for relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL). However, data are limited on the impact of the convergence of race and social determinants of health on outcomes for patients treated with CAR-T therapy. We examined the impact of interactions between race and insurance type on health care use and outcomes in patients treated with CAR-T therapy for aggressive B-NHL. Adult patients with r/r B-NHL treated with CD19 CAR-Ts were identified between 2015 and 2021 across 13 US academic centers. Insurance type, demographic, and clinical data were collected and analyzed. In total, 466 adult patients were included in our analysis. Median follow-up after CAR-T therapy was 12.7 months. Median progression-free survival (mPFS) was longer for Caucasians (11.5 months) than for African Americans (3.5 months; hazard ratio [HR], 1.56 [1.03-2.4]; P = .04) or Asians (2.7 months; HR, 1.7 [1.02-2.67]; P = .04). Differences in median overall survival (mOS) were not significant. For Medicare (n = 206) vs Medicaid (n = 33) vs private insurance (n = 219) vs self-pay (n = 7): mPFS was 15.9 vs 4.2 vs 6.0 vs 0.9 months (P < .001), respectively; and mOS was 31.2 vs 12.8 vs 21.5 vs 3.2 months (P < .001), respectively. Our multicenter retrospective analysis showed that race and insurance status can affect outcomes for patients treated with CAR-T therapy.

Clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular cytogenetic assessment of CD4-/CD8-γδ T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia.

γδ T-cell large granular lymphocytic (T-LGL) leukemia of the CD4-/CD8- subtype is rare, and data are limited in the literature. This study evaluated the clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular cytogenetic features of 7 cases of CD4-/CD8- γδ T-LGL leukemia. Although this variant shares several clinical and morphologic features with the more common T-LGL leukemias, the incidences of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and pure red cell aplasia are higher. Another striking feature observed in our study was the lack of increased large granular lymphocytes in the peripheral blood in the majority of cases despite prominent bone marrow or splenic involvement. CD4-/CD8- γδ T-LGL leukemia also displays an immunophenotype and pattern of splenic involvement overlapping with hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma. Clinically, this variant of T-LGL leukemia shows an overall indolent course, but treatment is often required in the initial stages of the disease. Awareness of these features is important for early recognition and accurate diagnosis of patients with CD4-/CD8- γδ T-LGL leukemia.