An innovative Spanish CAR-T therapy rescues patients with lymphoma

A team of researchers from the Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute (IR Sant Pau), in collaboration with the Hospital de Sant Pau and the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute , has developed an innovative CAR-T therapy targeting the CD30 protein (HSP-CAR30), which has demonstrated significant efficacy in patients with refractory CD30+ lymphoma.

The results of the Phase I clinical trial, published in the journal ' Blood ', show a 100% response rate and complete remission in 50% of treated patients.

The study was led by Javier Briones , head of the Hematologic Oncology and Transplant Research Group at IR Sant Pau, who emphasized that "it is extremely rare to observe these levels of response in patients who have undergone multiple failed treatments."

Furthermore, 60% of patients in complete remission remained relapse-free after a median follow-up of 34 months.

From a safety perspective, the treatment showed a favorable profile: only mild adverse events, such as grade 1 cytokine release syndrome (CRS), were reported, and no cases of neurotoxicity were detected.

One of the most important findings was the persistence of CAR-T cells in the body for more than a year in 60% of evaluable patients, which is associated with more durable responses.

HSP-CAR30 represents a pioneering advance in Europe, being the first CAR-T30 study to successfully complete its Phase I on the continent.

The ongoing Phase II trial has treated 32 patients, and preliminary results presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH 2024) are equally promising, with more than 55% of patients achieving complete remission.

The key to this new generation of CAR-T cells lies in optimized cell engineering to increase treatment duration and efficacy, including the use of interleukins IL-21, IL-7, and IL-15 in the production of long-lived memory T cells.

" This strategy could represent a paradigm shift in the treatment of refractory CD30+ lymphoma ," says Ana Caballero, a hematologist and co-investigator on the study. "We are offering real hope to patients with very limited therapeutic options."