A safety and efficacy study of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for refractory and relapsed T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma patients who achieved complete remission after autologous CD7 chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell therapy

Summary: CD7‐targeted chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell (CAR‐T) therapy has shown promising initial complete remission (CR) rates in patients with refractory or relapsed (r/r) T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma (T‐ALL/LBL). To enhance the remission duration, consolidation with allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) is considered. Our study delved into the outcomes of 34 patients with r/r T‐ALL/LBL who underwent allo‐HSCT after achieving CR with autologous CD7 CAR‐T therapy. These were compared with 124 consecutive T‐ALL/LBL patients who received allo‐HSCT in CR following chemotherapy. The study revealed that both the CAR‐T and chemotherapy cohorts exhibited comparable 2‐year overall survival (OS) (61.9% [95% CI, 44.1–78.1] vs. 67.6% [95% CI, 57.5–76.9], p = 0.210), leukaemia‐free survival (LFS) (62.3% [95% CI, 44.6–78.4] vs. 62.0% [95% CI, 51.8–71.7], p = 0.548), non‐relapse mortality (NRM) rates (32.0% [95% CI, 19.0–54.0] vs. 25.3% [95% CI, 17.9–35.8], p = 0.288) and relapse incidence rates (8.8% [95% CI, 3.0–26.0] vs. 15.8% [95% CI, 9.8–25.2], p = 0.557). Patients aged ≤14 in the CD7 CAR‐T group achieved high 2‐year OS and LFS rates of 87.5%. Our study indicates that CD7 CAR‐T therapy followed by allo‐HSCT is not only effective and safe for r/r T‐ALL/LBL patients but also on par with the outcomes of those achieving CR through chemotherapy, without increasing NRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]