Tisagenlecleucel for treating relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma – second line

Tisagenlecleucel is in clinical development for second-line treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). NHL is a type of blood cancer that develops when white blood cells, called lymphocytes, grow out of control. The lymphocytes lose their infection fighting ability, making the body more susceptible to infection. Relapsed cancer refers to cancer that returned following initial response to treatment and refractory cancer refers to cancer that did not respond to treatment. The prognosis for relapsed or refractory NHL is poor, so there is a need to develop additional treatment options.
Tisagenlecleucel is given by intravenous infusion and contains the patient’s own T-cells that have been genetically modified to make a protein called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). This CAR protein can attach to CD-19 which is a protein found on the surface of cancer cells, enabling the modified T-cells to kill the cancer cells. If approved, this would be a label extension for tisagenlecleucel’s existing Marketing Authorisation for the third-line treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).