Chimeric antigen receptor T‑cell therapy for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most common hematologic malignant neoplasm. Despite the improvement of immunochemotherapy, a significant number of patients have a refractory form of the disease. CAR T-cell therapy (therapy with T-lymphocytes with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)) is considered the most promising and effective therapy for overcoming chemorefractory B-cell NHL. Based on promising results from key studies, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have approved anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for relapsing / refractory diffuse B-cell lymphoma. However, several controversial issues remain, including the optimal management of toxicity, overcoming relapses after CAR T-cell therapy, and improving the production platform of CAR T-cells. This review describes the results of recent clinical research and development, as well as the prospects for the development of CAR T-cell therapy for B-cell NHL.