Paul Shaughnessy, MD, of Methodist Hospital, discusses the FELIX study of obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) in relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).
Of the 127 patients who received obe-cel infusion, 74% achieved complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete hematologic recovery, and 95% had measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity. The 12-month event-free survival (EFS) was 50%, which Dr. Shaughnessy described as “very impressive.”
Grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in 69% of patients, while grade >3 CRS occurred in 3%.
“There is a rapid expansion and persistence of [obe-cel] in many patients, and that persistence is associated with increased [EFS],” Dr. Shaughnessy concluded. “There also did not appear to be any advantage to taking these patients to allogeneic stem cell transplant when an MRD negative remission.”