Early lymphocyte collection for anti-CD19 CART production improves T-cell fitness in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

In an effort to maximize efficiency of the CAR T-cell therapy process, researchers conducted a prospective evaluation of earlier lymphopheresis (at first relapse, before salvage therapy) compared with standard (at second relapse and beyond) for patients with diffuse relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL). Although patient outcomes were not significantly improved with earlier lymphopheresis, there was a trend toward better overall survival and progression-free survival, potentially due to the fact that T cells in the study group exhibited a lower exhaustion profile.