Valentin Ortiz-Maldonado: High-Impact Innovation in CAR-T Therapy Can Emerge From Academic Programmes
Valentin Ortiz-Maldonado, Senior Specialist in the Oncoimmunotherapy Unit at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, shared The Lancet Haematology‘s post on LinkedIn, adding:
“Seeing our paper published in the March issue of The Lancet Haematology is a true honour and a very meaningful milestone for our team.
Our multicenter phase 2 study on Varnimcabtagene autoleucel for relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor ALL is now part of this month’s issue.
Beyond the publication itself, I believe this work carries a broader message: high-impact innovation in CAR-T therapy can emerge from academic, hospital-based programmes, and be successfully translated from bench to bedside with scientific rigor and a clear focus on patients.
This recognition belongs above all to the patients and families who place their trust in clinical research, and to the many colleagues, collaborators, and multidisciplinary teams whose work made this possible.
I am also especially glad that the study has been featured in The Lancet Haematology podcast, where Julio Delgado and I discuss the trial, its clinical implications, and the wider relevance of academic CAR-T development.
Many thanks to The Lancet Haematology for highlighting our work.”
The Lancet Haematology shared a post on LinkedIn:
“March Issue Now Live!
This month’s editorial maps the path to the WHO 2030 goal of 60% global survival for children with cancer.
Early diagnosis, affordable treatment, palliative care, and sustainable follow-up for every child, everywhere.
Our March cover, by Vito Ansaldi, is inspired by the Viewpoint on the conundrum of using the 20% blast threshold in bone marrow to separate myelodysplastic syndromes from acute myeloid leukaemia, by Fernando Barroso Duarte, Federal University of Ceara, and colleagues.
This issue features:
Academic CD19-directed CAR T-cells for R/R B-cell precursor ALL:
In the Phase 2 trial of fractionated adaptive intrapatient dosing of CD19-directed CAR-T cells, 27 of 32 patients achieved a complete response with MRD negativity by day 28, with a low incidence of severe CRS and any-grade ICANS. Julio Delgado, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, and colleagues.
Insights from Valentin Ortiz-Maldonado and Julio Delgado on this trial in English and in Spanish.
Bortezomib and Vorinostat for newly diagnosed infants with ALL:
Phase 1/2 trial evaluating inclusion of bortezomib and vorinostat into a chemotherapy backbone during induction and re-induction.
A run-in dose-escalation study with three vorinostat levels found no DLTs at levels 1–2; at level 3, 4 of 44 patients experienced DLTs. Infections remain a major cause of mortality and morbidity in this population. Tanja Gruber, Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
Venetoclax plus high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone for R/R AML
In this phase 1/2 trial, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was not reached, and dose level 3 was defined as RP2D. The composite complete remission rate was 75% (41/55 patients).
The most common all-grade adverse events were febrile neutropenia, pneumonia, and sepsis. Christoph Röllig, Technische Universität Dresden, and colleagues.
PROs in patients with FLT3-internal-tandem-duplication-positive AML
Exploratory patient-reported outcomes from the phase 3 QuANTUM-First trial show no difference in health-related quality of life or symptoms between quizartinib plus standard therapy and placebo. Esther Natalie Oliva, London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, and colleagues.
Don’t miss our In Focus section:
- Sickle cell heroes, a piece on a children’s book by Laura Henry-Allain, by Catherine Lucas
- Tele-prehabilitation for allogeneic HCT by María Queralt Salas et al.
Title: Varnimcabtagene autoleucel for adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in Spain (CART19-BE-02): a multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial
Authors: Valentín Ortiz-Maldonado, Núria Martínez-Cibrian, Leticia Alserawan, Marta Español-Rego, Sergio Navarro-Velázquez, Nil Albiol, Aina Oliver-Caldés, Ana Triguero, María Herrero-García, Sara Gutiérrez-Herrero, Daniel Benítez-Ribas, María Liz Paciello, Anna Torrent, Javier Delgado-Serrano, María Sánchez-Castañón, Hugo Calderón, Juan José Mata, Andrés Sánchez-Salinas, Joaquín Sáez-Peñataro, Carla Sans-Pola, Maria Calvo-Orteu, Lucía López-Corral, Mi Kwon, José Rifón, Paola Charry, Rafael Alberto Alonso-Fernández, María Huguet, Cristina Blázquez-Goñi, José María Sánchez-Pina, Ricardo Sánchez, Juan Manuel Rosa-Rosa, Prof Joaquín Martínez-López, Miguel Blanquer, Josep Maria Ribera, Prof Álvaro Urbano-Ispizua, Mireia Bachiller, Laura Palau, Eulalia Olesti, Gonzalo Calvo, Lourdes Martín-Martín, Prof Alberto Orfao, E Azucena González-Navarro, Gemma Domenech, Sara Varea, Manel Juan, Julio Delgado, Jordi Esteve
Read the Full Article on The Lancet Haematology
Title: Bortezomib and vorinostat in combination with mitoxantrone, dexamethasone, and pegasparaginase during induction and reinduction for infants with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a multicentre single-arm phase 1/2 study
Authors: Tanja A Gruber, Sima Jeha, Rebecca J Deyell, Victor Lewis, Prof Bill H Chang, Prof Eric J Lowe, Jamie Frediani, Catherine Vezina, Prof Bruno Michon, Michael Richards, Erin H Breese, Thai-Hoa Tran, Norman Lacayo, Christine Bolen, Prof Sunil Desai, Jennifer L Pauley, Minxuan Huang, Emily Ashcraft, Cheng Cheng, Kirk R Schultz, Linda Stork, Krysta Schlis, Van T Huynh, Nathan Gossai, Yoav H Messinger, Henrique Bittencourt, Terzah M Horton, Uma Athale, Duncan Stearns, Deborah Schiff, Paul S Gaynon
Read the Full Article on The Lancet Haematology
Title: Venetoclax plus high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone as salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (RELAX): a multicentre, single-arm, phase 1/2 trial
Authors: Leo Ruhnke, Christoph Schliemann, Jan-Henrik Mikesch, Matthias Stelljes, Lars Fransecky, Björn Steffen, Martin Kaufmann, Andreas Burchert, Andreas Rank, Maher Hanoun, Alexander Höllein, Sabrina Kraus, Kerstin Schäfer-Eckart, Mathias Hänel, Annett Haake, Frank Fiebig, Michael Kramer, Sven Zukunft, Désirée Kunadt, Jan Moritz Middeke, Katja Sockel, Johannes Schetelig, Uwe Platzbecker, Malte von Bonin, Maximilian Alexander Röhnert, Uta Oelschlägel, Lisa Wagenführ, Christian Thiede, Sylvia Herold, David Poitz, Friedrich Stölzel, Claudia Dorothea Baldus, Hubert Serve, Martin Wermke
Read the Full Article on The Lancet Haematology
Title: Patient-reported outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with FLT3-internal-tandem-duplication-positive acute myeloid leukaemia receiving standard chemotherapy plus quizartinib or placebo (QuANTUM-First): a global, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial
Authors: Esther N Olíva, Francesco Cottone, Sudhir Unni, Anne Correges, Jes B Hansen, Xiaocong Li Marston, Jorge Cortes, Mikkael A Sekeres
Read the Full Article on The Lancet Haematology
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