Jennifer Woyach, MD, Reflects on the Liso-Cel Approval for CLL

Dr. Woyach, a Professor in the Division of Hematology at the Ohio State University, reflects on the approval of lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Liso-cel was approved in March 2024 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with relapsed or refractory CLL who received at least two prior lines of therapy. The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy was also approved for follicular lymphoma in May 2024.

“This is a really exciting paradigm shift for our CLL patients,” Dr. Woyach began. “I see this being adapted primarily for younger patients who are in earlier lines of therapy and who are fit and able to tolerate a more aggressive treatment course.”

With a complete response (CR) rate of 20%, Dr. Woyach believes there is more work to be done to determine which patients are more likely to achieve a CR with liso-cel.

Dr. Woyach also touched upon the risk of secondary malignancies following CAR-T therapy.

“In this patient population, the risk of secondary cancers is outweighed by the potential benefit,” she said. “However, as we start thinking about CAR-T for patients in earlier lines of therapy, this is going to be a bigger deal.”