[Relapsed primary central nervous system lymphoma treated with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

Relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) has a poor prognosis. A 57-year-old man diagnosed with PCNSL achieved a complete response by high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT). The disease was not cured, so he was treated with the anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel after the third relapse. However, the disease relapsed again 28 days after CAR T-cell therapy. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) was attempted as curative therapy after bridging with second ASCT and tirabrutinib monotherapy. Although a temporary response was achieved, the disease relapsed 98 days after allo-HSCT. While receiving tirabrutinib for relapse after allo-HSCT, the patient developed acute respiratory failure due to transplant-related toxicity and post-transplant thrombotic microangiopathy. He died 175 days after allo-HSCT. Although various treatments for PCNSL have been investigated in recent years, the treatment strategy for R/R PCNSL has not been established. Further studies are warranted to improve the outcomes of patients with R/R PCNSL.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy after COVID-19 in refractory high-grade B-cell lymphoma.

Although chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies have dramatically improved the outcomes of relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies, recipients suffer from severe humoral immunodeficiencies. Furthermore, patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a poor prognosis, as noted in several case reports of recipients who had COVID-19 before the infusion. We report the case of a 70-year-old woman who developed COVID-19 immediately before CAR-T therapy for high-grade B-cell lymphoma. She received Tixagevimab-Cilgavimab chemotherapy and radiation therapy but never achieved remission. She was transferred to our hospital for CAR-T therapy, but developed COVID-19. Her symptoms were mild and she was treated with long-term molnupiravir. On day 28 post-infection, lymphodepleting chemotherapy was restarted after a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was confirmed. The patient did not experience recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms or severe cytokine release syndrome. Based on the analysis and comparison of the previous reports with this case, we believe that CAR-T therapy should be postponed until a negative PCR test is confirmed. In addition, Tixagevimab-Cilgavimab and long term direct-acting antiviral agent treatment can be effective prophylaxis for severe COVID-19 and shortening the duration of infection.

Negative Prognostic Impact of High-Dose or Long-Term Corticosteroid Use in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Lymphoma Who Received Tisagenlecleucel.

The prognostic impact of corticosteroid therapy in patients receiving tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) treatment who are more likely to develop cytokine release syndrome (CRS) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact and lymphocyte kinetics of corticosteroid administration for CRS in 45 patients with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell lymphoma treated with tisa-cel. This was a retrospective evaluation of all consecutive patients diagnosed with relapsed and/or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma with histologic transformation to large B-cell lymphoma, or follicular lymphoma who received commercial-based tisa-cel treatment. The best overall response rate, complete response rate, median progression-free survival (PFS), and median overall survival (OS) were 72.7%, 45.5%, 6.6 months, and 15.3 months, respectively. CRS (predominantly grade 1/2) occurred in 40 patients (88.9%), and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) of all grades occurred in 3 patients (6.7%). No grade ≥3 ICANS occurred. Patients with high-dose (≥524 mg, methylprednisolone equivalent; n = 12) or long-term (≥8 days; n = 9) corticosteroid use had inferior PFS and OS to patients with low-dose or no corticosteroid use (both P < .05). The prognostic impact remained even in 23 patients with stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) before tisa-cel infusion (P = .015). but not in patients with better disease status (P = .71). The timing of corticosteroid initiation did not have a prognostic impact. Multivariate analysis identified high-dose corticosteroid use and long-term corticosteroid use as independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS, respectively, after adjusting for elevated lactate dehydrogenase level before lymphodepletion chemotherapy and disease status (SD or PD). Lymphocyte kinetics analysis demonstrated that after methylprednisolone administration, the proportions of regulatory T cells (Tregs), CD4+ central memory T (TCM) cells, and natural killer (NK) cells were decreased, whereas the proportion of CD4+ effector memory T (TEM) cells was increased. Patients with a higher proportion of Tregs at day 7 had a lower incidence of CRS, but this did not affect prognosis, indicating that early elevation of Tregs may serve as a biomarker for CRS development. Furthermore, patients with higher numbers of CD4+ TCM cells and NK cells at various time points had significantly better PFS and OS, whereas the number of CD4+ TEM cells did not impact prognostic outcomes. This study suggests that high-dose or long-term corticosteroid use attenuates the efficacy of tisa-cel, especially in patients with SD or PD. Additionally, patients with high levels of CD4+ TCM cells and NK cells after tisa-cel infusion had longer PFS and OS.

Real-World Experience of the Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Molnupiravir and Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir in High-Risk Patients with COVID-19 in a Community Setting.

Molnupiravir (MOV) and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (NMV/r) are efficacious oral antiviral agents for patients with the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19). However, little is known about their effectiveness in older adults and those at high risk of disease progression. This retrospective single-center observational study assessed and compared the outcomes of COVID-19 treated with MOV and NMV/r in a real-world community setting. We included patients with confirmed COVID-19 combined with one or more risk factors for disease progression from June to October 2022. Of 283 patients, 79.9% received MOV and 20.1% NMV/r. The mean patient age was 71.7 years, 56.5% were men, and 71.7% had received ≥3 doses of vaccine. COVID-19-related hospitalization (2.8% and 3.5%, respectively; p = 0.978) or death (0.4% and 3.5%, respectively; p = 0.104) did not differ significantly between the MOV and NMV/r groups. The incidence of adverse events was 2.7% and 5.3%, and the incidence of treatment discontinuation was 2.7% and 5.3% in the MOV and NMV/r groups, respectively. The real-world effectiveness of MOV and NMV/r was similar among older adults and those at high risk of disease progression. The incidence of hospitalization or death was low.