Key clinical point: The baseline CAR-HEMATOTOX (HT) score enables the early identification of patients at high risk for prolonged neutropenia, severe infections, and poor survival outcomes following brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) infusion for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
Major finding: Patients with high (score 2-7) vs low (score 0-1) HT scores had significantly longer median duration of severe neutropenia (P < .0001), higher rates of severe infections (P = .001), and lower overall response rates (P = .003). The HT score represented an independent predictor of poor progression-free (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.7; P < .001) and overall (aHR 5.6; P = .002) survival.
Study details: This multicenter observational study included 103 patients with relapsed or refractory MCL receiving brexu-cel, of whom 47 patients had high and 56 patients had low HT scores.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Gilead Research Scholar Program and other sources. Some authors declared serving as consultants or advisory board members for or receiving research funding, speakers’ honoraria, personal fees, or travel support from Gilead Sciences and other sources.
Source: Rejeski K et al. The CAR-HEMATOTOX score identifies patients at high risk for hematological toxicity, infectious complications, and poor treatment outcomes following brexucabtagene autoleucel for relapsed or refractory MCL. Am J Hematol. 2023 (Aug 16). doi: 10.1002/ajh.27056