Hematologic Malignancies Research Updates

In 38 heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory B‑cell non‑Hodgkin lymphomas (24 large B‑cell, 14 follicular) treated once with tisagenlecleucel and followed for a median of 10.1 years, no relapses occurred beyond 5.4 years. Ten‑year lymphoma‑free survival was 32% (95% CI 14–51) for large B‑cell lymphoma and 47% (95% CI 20–71) for follicular lymphoma; 10‑year overall survival was 17% and 50%, respectively, with persistent B‑cell aplasia in 44% of long‑term responders, a 10‑year cumulative incidence of second primary cancers of 21%, and low rates of late cytopenias.

In a phase 1 study of 18 older adults (≥55 years, median age 64) with B-ALL in first complete remission, memory-enriched CD19 CAR T cells after lymphodepletion were administered as definitive consolidation and produced detectable CAR T-cell expansion in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment had no dose-limiting toxicities, no grade ≥2 cytokine release syndrome and no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity, with estimated 18-month event-free and overall survival of 84% and 100%, respectively, supporting safety and potential durability of early CAR T use in this cohort.

This review summarizes current immunotherapy approaches in ovarian cancer, noting that despite tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in many cases, immune checkpoint inhibitors have delivered only modest benefit. It outlines ongoing development of antigen-directed strategies (CAR T cells, TIL therapy, bispecific antibodies, vaccines, cytokine agents, antibody–drug conjugates) targeting antigens such as mesothelin, folate receptor-α, HER2, MUC16, EpCAM, and claudin-6, and discusses biological/clinical barriers to efficacy and emerging combination and biomarker-driven strategies informed by integrated genomic and immune profiling.