Purpose: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have shown clinical benefit for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), yet approximately 60% of patients do not respond or eventually relapse. We investigated the safety and feasibility of the CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) in combination with the 4-1BB agonist antibody utomilumab as an approach to improve efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy.
Patients and methods: In phase 1 of the single-arm ZUMA-11 trial, patients with R/R LBCL received a single axi-cel infusion (target dose, 2 × 106 cells/kg) plus utomilumab 10 to 200 mg intravenously every 4 weeks for up to 6 months in a dose-escalation design. The primary endpoint was incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) with utomilumab. Key secondary endpoints were safety, antitumor activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.
Results: No DLTs were observed among patients treated with axi-cel and utomilumab (n = 12). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 10 patients (83%); none were Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome or neurologic events. The objective response rate was 75% and seven patients (58%) had a complete response. Peak CAR T-cell levels increased in a utomilumab dose-dependent manner up to 100 mg. Patients who received utomilumab 100 mg had persistently increased CAR T cells on days 57 to 168 compared with other dose levels. Utomilumab was associated with dose-dependent increases in IL2, IFNγ, and IL10.
Conclusions: Utomilumab-mediated 4-1BB agonism combined with axi-cel therapy had a manageable safety profile. Dual 4-1BB and CD28 costimulation is a feasible therapeutic approach that may enhance CAR T-cell expansion in patients with LBCL.
©2023 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.