Clinical Impact of a Germline CD19 Variant on Treatment Outcome After CAR-T Cell Therapy in Relapsed/Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND

Brexu-cel is an established CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, but clinical outcomes are heterogeneous, and germline determinants of response are poorly defined.

METHODS

We investigated the clinical impact of the CD19 single-nucleotide polymorphism rs2904880 on treatment outcome after brexu-cel CAR-T cell therapy by analyzing genotype-outcome associations in a retrospective single-center cohort of patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma treated with this CAR-T cell therapy.

RESULTS

Overall survival varied according to CD19 polymorphism, with improved survival of patients carrying the V174 homozygous genotype compared with L174V heterozygotes.

CONCLUSIONS

The germline CD19 polymorphism may have implications for future risk stratification after brexu-cel CAR-T cell therapy in mantle cell lymphoma, but requires validation in larger, multicenter cohorts.