The CAR-T cell immunotherapy utilizes genetically engineered immune system cells chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.
Specifically, in CAR-T cell therapy, a target protein called B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is used for multiple myeloma treatment (especially resistant types) with impressive response rates.
BCMA-targeted CAR-T Cell Therapy
The case study showed that a patient in Mount Sinai started presenting with progressive neurological features resembling Parkinson’s disease tremors along with handwriting and gait changes, after 3 months of BCMA-targeted CAR-T cell therapy course.
Following this, the patient succumbed to death from infectious complications. Later, it was found that there was evidence of BCMA protein and scarring in the brain’s basal ganglia.
This suggests that the changes could be a serious side effect of the BCMA targeting therapy in the brain.
“Our findings will impact the risk-benefit assessment of BCMA-targeted CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma and have already led to improved monitoring and proactive management of neurologic adverse events across clinical trials of BCMA-targeted therapy,” says Oliver Van Oekelen, MD, PhD student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the first author of the manuscript.
Source: Medindia
