Reagan, Patrick Michael

Introduction: Axicabtagene Ciloleucel (axi-cel), a CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, was approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October, 2017. In the ZUMA-1 trial leading to axi-cel FDA approval, patients (pts) with prior or active secondary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma involvement were excluded. A recent publication of 8 pts with secondary CNS lymphoma who underwent Tisagenlecleucel CAR T cell therapy was reported (Frigault M.J.2019). Since the two FDA approved CAR T cell products have a different neurotoxicity profile, understanding outcomes of axi-cel in this setting is important. We report here the real-world experience of 17 pts treated with axi-cel who had a history of secondary CNS involvement or had active CNS disease at time of CAR T infusion. Methods: Seventeen academic centers from the US Lymphoma CAR T Consortium contributed data independently from the manufacturer. Data regarding secondary CNS involvement, management, and outcome were obtained in addition to CAR T therapy outcome for pts who were identified as having active, secondary CNS involvement at the time of evaluation for CAR-T therapy. Nine centers reported data on 17 cases with CNS involvement. Follow-up data was missing for one pt in the CNS cohort. Lee criteria or the modified Lee grading scale were used for cytokine release syndrome (CRS). CTCAEv4 or CARTOX grading were used for immune effector cells associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). All leukapheresed pts were included in the intention to treat (ITT) analysis for response rate and event-free survival (EFS). EFS was defined as date of leukapheresis until progression or death due to any cause. EFS was evaluated using Kaplan Meier curves with log-rank test. Differences in clinical characteristics and response between CNS and non-CNS pts were not formally tested due to small sample size and multiple comparison concerns. Results: With a data cut-off of 4/30/2019, 300 pts underwent leukapheresis with intention to manufacture standard of care axi-cel. By the time of leukapheresis, 17 (6%) had secondary CNS involvement (4 parenchymal disease, 10 leptomeningeal/CSF, 3 data not available). Compared to the non-CNS cohort, baseline demographics were comparable (Panel A). Manufactured axi-cel was within specification for 100% of the CNS cohort. There was a higher rate of bridging therapy use in the CNS cohort 82% (1 steroids only, 2 radiation therapy, 12 systemic therapy) vs 52% in non-CNS cohort; p=0.022. Time from leukapheresis to CAR T infusion was 3.5 days longer in the CNS cohort as opposed to the non-CNS cohort: median time of 29.5 (range 20-76) vs. 26 days (range 5-67), (p=0.029), respectively. The CAR T infusion rate was 88% for the CNS cohort (15/17) compared to 93% (262/283) in the non-CNS cohort. Among the 15 infused pts in the CNS cohort, 10 had resolution of CNS involvement, and 5 had persistent active CNS disease at time of CAR T infusion. After axi-cel infusion, the incidence of CRS and ICANS, of any grade or grade 3 or higher, were comparable between the CNS and non-CNS cohorts. Tocilizumab and steroid use were comparable between the two groups (Panel B). No seizures or cerebral edema were noted in the CNS cohort. With a median follow-up of 10.1 months from leukapheresis (range 7.6-12.6), the ITT best overall response rates (CR+PR) and ongoing responses at month 6 between CNS and non-CNS cohorts were 75% vs. 59%, and 41% vs. 31%, respectively (Panel B). In the 5 pts with active CNS disease at time of CAR T infusion, the response of CNS disease were 2 CR, 1 PR and 2 PD as best response. In the 10 pts with resolved CNS disease at time of CAR T infusion, 2 PD were seen and both occurred systemically. EFS from leukapheresis was not statistically significantly different between CNS and non-CNS cohorts (6 months EFS: CNS cohort, 36%; non-CNS cohort 57%. HR=1.58, 95% CI: 0.83-3.01, p=0.16, Panel C). Six month EFS from the date of infusion for the CNS cohort was 49.9% (Panel D). Conclusions: Pts attempting CAR T therapy with secondary CNS disease in the real world setting had similar rates of CAR T infusion, toxicity, and outcomes when compared to patients without CNS disease. Small sample size and limited follow-up caution the strength of conclusions for application to clinical practice, but these results support further investigation of CAR T in pts with history of or active secondary CNS lymphoma. Figure Disclosures Bennani: Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board. Maurer:Celgene: Research Funding; Nanostring: Research Funding; Morphosys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Nastoupil:Bayer: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Jain:Kite/Gilead: Consultancy. Chavez:Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cashen:Seattle Genetics: Other: Speaker's Bureau; Novartis: Other: Speaker's Bureau; Celgene: Other: Speaker's Bureau. Reagan:Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Oluwole:Pfizer: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. McGuirk:Novartis: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Pluristem Ltd: Research Funding; ArticulateScience LLC: Other: Assistance with manuscript preparation; Juno Therapeutics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Deol:Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Kite: Other: Advisory board; Agios: Other: Advisory board. Sehgal:Juno/Celgene: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Research Funding. Goy:COTA: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: leadership role for profit healthcare company; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astrazenca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; University of Nebraska: Research Funding; Hakensackumc: Research Funding; Takeda: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Genentech: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Hackensack University Medical Center, RCCA: Employment; Acerta: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding. Hill:Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG therapeutics: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celegene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Vu:Celgene: Other: Stock. Andreadis:Genentech: Equity Ownership, Other: Spouse is Employee; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. Munoz:Incyte: Research Funding; Portola: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics LLC an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Fosunkite: Speakers Bureau; Kyowa: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Vose:Acerta Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Legend Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Miklos:Miltenyi Biotech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Becton Dickinson: Research Funding; AlloGene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Precision Bioscience: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite-Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Locke:Kite: Other: Scientific Advisor; Novartis: Other: Scientific Advisor; Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy. Neelapu:Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Poseida: Research Funding; Allogene: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy; Cell Medica: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Cellectis: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy. Lin:Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite/Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BlueBird Bio: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Sorrento: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

MDJ and MTJ contributed equally; FLL and AG contributed equally. Introduction Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) are autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapies approved for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have failed at least two lines of systemic therapy. In the ZUMA-1 trial that led to axi-cel approval, the median time between apheresis and delivery of CAR T cells to the treating facility was 17 days (Neelapu, Locke et al. NEJM 2018). Bridging therapy, defined as lymphoma therapy given between apheresis and the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, was not permitted on ZUMA-1. By contrast, the pivotal JULIET trial for tisa-cel (Schuster et al. NEJM 2019) had a median time from enrollment to infusion of 54 days and 92% of patients received bridging therapy. Whether bridging therapy affects lymphoma CAR T outcomes is unknown. Here we evaluate patients receiving bridging therapy for axi-cel in a large multicenter cohort. Methods and Results The US Lymphoma CAR T Consortium includes seventeen US academic centers that contribute data from lymphoma patients treated with standard of care (SOC) CAR T-cell therapy independently of manufacturers. As of 8/31/2018, 300 patients were apheresed with intent to manufacture SOC axi-cel for LBCL. Of the 23 patients that underwent apheresis for axi-cel and did not receive it, 20 had lymphoma progression or death that precluded CAR T infusion, of which 16 received bridging therapy. In this study, we analyze the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population of 276 patients receiving CAR T infusion with a median follow up of 9 months. In this group, 146 (53%) patients received bridging therapy while 130 (47%) patients received no bridging therapy. Bridging therapy consisted of steroids alone (n = 35, 24%), chemotherapy (n = 73, 50%), radiation (n = 24, 16%), or targeted therapies (n = 14, 10%). At baseline, a higher proportion of patients in the bridging therapy group had an ECOG score of 2 - 4 vs. 0 - 1 (bridging 24.8%, no bridging 6.1%, p <0.001), IPI score of 3 -5 vs. 0 - 2 (bridging 67.6%, no bridging 34.3%, p <0.001), bulky disease greater than 10 cm (28.2% vs. 13.0%, p = 0.002), immunohistochemical double expression of MYC and BCL2 (42.5% vs. 24.6%, p =0.004) and would not have met all the eligibility criteria for ZUMA-1 for reasons other than bridging therapy (48.6% vs. 30.0%, p = 0.002). After axi-cel infusion, patients in the bridging group had similar rates of severe (grade 3 or higher) cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (8.2% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.34) and ICANS (35.2% vs. 28.2%, p = 0.25). However, the rate of ICU admission was higher in the bridging group (41.4% vs. 22.9%, p = 0.001) as was median length of hospital stay (15 vs. 14 days, p = 0.02). While data on cytopenias was not collected, use of G-CSF after CAR T therapy was higher in the bridging group (48.2% vs. 32.1%, p = 0.006). In terms of outcomes, in multivariate analysis correcting for confounding features, there was no statistically significant difference in overall response rate (p = 0.2), complete response rate (p = 0.19), and progression free survival (p = 0.3) between bridging and no bridging groups; but bridging therapy was associated with significantly poorer overall survival (p = 0.001) and lymphoma specific survival (p = 0.019) (figure 1.). Both death due to lymphoma (33.1% vs. 13.0%) and death due to treatment-related mortality (TRM) (6.9% vs. 1.5%) were higher in the bridging group (p <0.001). Conclusions Lymphoma patients receiving bridging therapy had poorer prognostic factors at baseline and after axi-cel infusion experienced decreased lymphoma-specific and overall survival compared with patients with no bridging. This inferior outcome raises the possibility that bridging therapy may identify a sub-group of lymphoma patients with a different biology, or alternatively, bridging therapy may have an effect on the host or the tumor microenvironment that may impact CAR-T efficacy. With or without bridging, 7% of patients in our series did not receive axi-cel due to lymphoma progression and/or death. In addition, there may have been patients where bridging prevented progression or death prior to axi-cel infusion. Prospective evaluation of different bridging strategies is warranted to determine if any can improve outcomes after axi-cel, and/or if they should be utilized only for patients requiring emergent disease control during the manufacture period. Disclosures Jain: Kite/Gilead: Consultancy. Nastoupil:Bayer: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Spectrum: Honoraria. Lin:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BlueBird Bio: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sorrento: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Lunning:Curis: Research Funding; Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC: Consultancy, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; MiRagen: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; DAVA: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; OncLive: Consultancy; Portola: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; VANIUM: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy. Reagan:Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Oluwole:Pfizer: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. McGuirk:Juno Therapeutics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Pluristem Ltd: Research Funding; ArticulateScience LLC: Other: Assistance with manuscript preparation. Deol:Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Kite: Other: Advisory board; Agios: Other: Advisory board. Goy:University of Nebraska: Research Funding; Hakensackumc: Research Funding; Astrazenca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Hackensack University Medical Center, RCCA: Employment; Genentech: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Acerta: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; Takeda: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; COTA: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: leadership role for profit healthcare company. Hill:Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celegene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG therapeutics: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Munoz:Kyowa: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene/Juno: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Alexion: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy; Fosunkite: Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Portola: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics /Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Consultancy. Chavez:Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Speakers Bureau; Kite Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Speakers Bureau. Vose:Acerta Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Legend Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Miklos:Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite-Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AlloGene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Precision Bioscience: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Miltenyi Biotech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Becton Dickinson: Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Neelapu:Cellectis: Research Funding; Allogene: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; BMS: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; Karus: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Poseida: Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy; Cell Medica: Consultancy. Bennani:Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board. Andreadis:Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Roche: Equity Ownership; Celgene: Research Funding; Juno: Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Employment; Merck: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy. Sehgal:Juno/Celgene: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Research Funding. Locke:Novartis: Other: Scientific Advisor; Kite: Other: Scientific Advisor; Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy.

M.T.J. and M.D.J. contributed equally; A.G. and F.L.L. contributed equally. Introduction Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) is an autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy that is approved for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have failed at least two prior systemic lines of therapy. In the ZUMA-1 trial that led to axi-cel approval, 93% of patients developed cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (Neelapu, Locke et al. NEJM 2018). CRS is a non-antigen-specific toxicity that occurs as a result of CAR T and bystander immune cell activation. Whether lack of development of CRS after treatment with axi-cel is associated with inferior lymphoma outcomes is unknown. Here we evaluate the outcomes of patients that did not develop CRS after receiving axi-cel in a large multicenter cohort. Methods and Results The US Lymphoma CAR T Consortium includes seventeen US academic centers that contribute data independently of manufacturers. As of 8/31/2018, 300 patients were apheresed with intent to manufacture standard of care axi-cel for LBCL. In this study, we analyzed the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population of 276 patients receiving CAR T infusion with a median follow up of 9 months. In this group, 25 patients (9%) did not develop CRS and 251 patients (91%) developed CRS following axi-cel infusion. CRS was graded according to Lee criteria (Lee et al. Blood 2014) or CARTOX (Neelapu SS et al. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2018). At baseline, a higher proportion of patients in the no CRS group had ECOG score of 0-1 (no CRS group 100% vs. CRS group 82%, p= 0.019) and IPI score of 0-2 (no CRS group 72% vs. CRS group 46%, p = 0.019) After CAR T cell infusion, patients who did not develop CRS had a lower chance of developing grade 3 or higher neurotoxicity (no CRS group 4% vs. CRS group 35%, p=0.001), lower rates of ICU admission (no CRS group 8% vs. CRS group 35%, p = 0.006), and shorter length of hospital stay (median 10 days for no CRS group vs 14 days for CRS group, p < 0.001). Of the 25 patients who had grade 0 CRS, 23 (92%%) also had grade 0 neurotoxicity. In univariate analysis, no CRS was associated with lower complete response (CR) rate (no CRS group 40% vs. CRS group 66%, p=0.015) but no statistically significant difference in overall response rate (ORR) (no CRS group 72% vs. CRS group 84%, p= 0.158). In relation to CRS there was no difference in treatment related mortality among the two groups (CRS group 4% vs. no CRS group 4.4%, p = 0.85). In multivariate analysis correcting for confounding features, no CRS was associated with statistically significant lower complete response rate (p = 0.002), but there was no significant difference in ORR (p = 0.13), overall survival (P=0.15), progression free survival (P=0.16), and time to progression (P= 0.14) between the two groups (figure 1.). Conclusions In this large cohort of LBCL patients receiving axi-cel with median follow up of 9 months, patients that did not develop CRS, compared with those that developed CRS, achieved lower rates of complete response but there was no difference in overall response rate, progression free survival, time to progression, overall survival, and treatment related mortality between the two groups. Disclosures Jain: Kite/Gilead: Consultancy. Nastoupil:Bayer: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria. Lunning:Spectrum: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Portola: Consultancy; OncLive: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Consultancy; DAVA: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; MiRagen: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC: Consultancy, Research Funding; Curis: Research Funding; VANIUM: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy. Reagan:Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Oluwole:Pfizer: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. McGuirk:Novartis: Research Funding; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Pluristem Ltd: Research Funding; ArticulateScience LLC: Other: Assistance with manuscript preparation; Juno Therapeutics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding. Deol:Agios: Other: Advisory board; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Kite: Other: Advisory board. Sehgal:Juno/Celgene: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Research Funding. Goy:Acerta: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; University of Nebraska: Research Funding; Astrazenca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Hakensackumc: Research Funding; Hackensack University Medical Center, RCCA: Employment; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; Takeda: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work; COTA: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: leadership role for profit healthcare company; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding; Genentech: Other: Grants outside of the submitted work, Research Funding. Hill:Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celegene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG therapeutics: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Andreadis:Juno: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Roche: Equity Ownership; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Employment; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding. Munoz:Incyte: Research Funding; Portola: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Fosunkite: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; Alexion: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics /Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Consultancy; Kyowa: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene/Juno: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Chavez:Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Speakers Bureau; Kite Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Bennani:Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board. Vose:Acerta Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Grants, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Legend Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Miklos:Becton Dickinson: Research Funding; Miltenyi Biotech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AlloGene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Precision Bioscience: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite-Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Juno: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Neelapu:Poseida: Research Funding; Cellectis: Research Funding; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy; Cell Medica: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Allogene: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding. Ghobadi:Wugen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; EUSA: Consultancy; Kite Pharma a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Locke:Novartis: Other: Scientific Advisor; Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy; Kite: Other: Scientific Advisor.

Background: In the SCHOLAR-1 study, the largest published retrospective analysis of outcomes in patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), the objective response rate (ORR) was 26% and complete response (CR) rate was 7% with available salvage therapies in the pre-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy era (Crump et al. Blood. 2017). These results served as a benchmark for assessing novel therapies. ZUMA-1 (NCT02348216) is the pivotal, multicenter, single-arm Phase 1/2 study evaluating axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), an autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy, in patients with refractory LBCL that supported the approval of axi-cel in the United States and Europe. At a median follow-up of 27.1 months, the ORR in ZUMA-1 was 83% and the CR rate was 58% (Locke et al. Lancet Oncol. 2019). Here, we describe comparative analyses of outcomes in ZUMA-1 and SCHOLAR-1 after adjusting for potential imbalances in refractory status between the 2 studies. Methods: Patients in both studies had refractory LBCL defined as stable disease of ≤ 6 months with ≥ 4 cycles of frontline or ≥ 2 cycles of later-line therapy, progressive disease as best response, or relapse ≤ 12 months post autologous stem cell transplant (SCT). To address potential imbalances between studies in refractory status which could affect response and survival outcomes, standardized analyses were performed which equally weighted the proportions of patients by refractory categorization (primary refractory, refractory to ≥ second-line therapy, or relapse after SCT) and presence of post-refractory SCT in each study. Stratified Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) tests and Cox models were used to compare the odds ratio for response and hazard ratio (HR) for survival between ZUMA-1 and SCHOLAR-1. P values were descriptive and were not adjusted for multiplicity. Results: Axi-cel was administered to 101 patients in the pivotal Phase 2 portion of ZUMA-1. In the SCHOLAR-1 analysis, 508 patients were evaluable for response and 497 were evaluable for survival. The median follow-up in ZUMA-1 was 2.3 years, and the median follow-up from the overall SCHOLAR-1 study ranged from 7.6 to 14.8 years across different cohorts. In general, ZUMA-1 patients were more heavily pretreated with more patients receiving ≥ 3 lines of therapy as compared with SCHOLAR-1 (69% vs 23%). ZUMA-1 also had more patients who were refractory to second- or later-line therapy compared with SCHOLAR-1 (76% vs 62%). Fewer patients in ZUMA-1, however, were classified as primary refractory vs those in SCHOLAR-1 (26% vs 45%), and a similar proportion of patients between studies relapsed within 1 year of SCT (21% vs 18%). After standardization, the ORR and CR rate in ZUMA-1 vs SCHOLAR-1 were 72% and 54% vs 22% and 7%, respectively. The odds ratios for ORR and CR rate were 7.2-fold and 11.5-fold higher, respectively in ZUMA-1 vs SCHOLAR-1 (CMH test; P < .0001 for both ORR and CR rate). The 2-year survival rate after standardization was 50% (95% CI, 40% - 59%) in ZUMA-1 and 12% (95% CI, 9% - 15%) in SCHOLAR-1, which translated to a 73% reduction in the risk of death in ZUMA-1 relative to SCHOLAR-1 (HR, 0.27; P < .0001). Conclusions: This standardized analysis of the ZUMA-1 and SCHOLAR-1 studies indicates that treatment with axi-cel in this selected population results in 11.5-fold higher odds of CR and a 73% reduction in the risk of death compared with standard salvage regimens in an unselected population. Although limited by retrospective evaluation and cross-study comparisons, these results support the previous literature indicating that axi-cel is a highly effective treatment option for patients with refractory LBCL. Disclosures Neelapu: Pfizer: Consultancy; BMS: Research Funding; Cellectis: Research Funding; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy; Allogene: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Cell Medica: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; Poseida: Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding. Locke:Novartis: Other: Scientific Advisor; Kite: Other: Scientific Advisor; Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy. Bartlett:Genentech, Inc.: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Autolus: Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Forty Seven: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Millennium: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding. Reagan:Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Miklos:Celgene-Juno: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Miltenyi: Consultancy, Research Funding; AlloGene: Consultancy; Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Becton Dickinson: Consultancy; Precision Bioscience: Consultancy. Jacobson:Pfizer: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Humanigen: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Bayer: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support. Oluwole:Pfizer: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. Siddiqi:BeiGene: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Kite, A Gilead Company: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Speakers Bureau; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: travel support, Research Funding; PCYC: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Crump:Kite/Gilead: Consultancy; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding; Servier: Consultancy. Kuruvilla:Seattle Genetics: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Janssen: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding. Van Den Neste:Gilead: Other: travel support. Farooq:Celgene: Honoraria; Kite Pharma: Research Funding. Navale:Kite, A Gilead Company: Employment, Equity Ownership; Gilead: Equity Ownership; Allogene: Equity Ownership; Cellectis: Equity Ownership; Bluebird Bio: Equity Ownership; Amgen: Equity Ownership; Organesis: Equity Ownership; Jounce: Equity Ownership; Editas: Equity Ownership; Intellia: Equity Ownership. DePuy:Kite, A Gilead Company: Consultancy, Other: travel support. Kim:Kite, A Gilead Company: Employment.

Abstract Introduction Axi-cel is an autologous anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy approved by the US FDA 10/18/2017, for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), transformed lymphoma (tFL), and high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL) who have failed at least two prior systemic lines of therapy. In the pivotal ZUMA-1 trial, 108 patients (pts) with r/r DLBCL were treated with axi-cel: the best overall response rate (ORR) was 82% and complete response (CR) rate was 58%. At a median follow-up of 15.4 months, 42% of the pts had ongoing remission (Neelapu and Locke et al. NEJM 2017). Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) by Lee criteria and neurologic events (NEs) occurred in 13% and 31% of the pts, respectively. Here, we evaluated the real world outcomes of pts treated with standard of care axi-cel under the commercial FDA label. Methods and Results Seventeen US academic centers contributed data to this effort independently of the manufacturer. As of 6/30/2018, 211 pts were leukapheresed with intention to manufacture commercial axi-cel. Of these, 165 (78%) pts completed axi-cel infusion as of 6/30/18 and a further 23 (11%) pts are scheduled for axi-cel infusion in July 2018. Of the 23 remaining pts, 7 (3%) received axi-cel therapy on ZUMA-9 expanded access trial (NCT03153462) due to non-conforming cell therapy product, 15 (7%) pts died before axi-cel infusion (14 from lymphoma progression and 1 from sepsis) and 1 (1%) patient attained CR from bridging therapy and was not infused. Safety was evaluable in 163 pts receiving axi-cel. Grade ³3 CRS and NEs occurred in 7% and 31% of pts. Tocilizumab was administered in 62% of pts and 57% received corticosteroids. Outside of lymphoma progression, 3 deaths occurred post-axi-cel; 1 due to HLH, 1 due to systemic candidiasis, and a third due to septic shock. There were no grade 5 NEs observed. Response assessment was done for pts infused with axi-cel and who were re-staged at day 30 and/or day 100, or were deemed to have clinical progression. Of 112 pts evaluable at day 30, ORR was 79% with 50% CR, 29% PR, 6% SD and 14% with PD. Of 39 pts evaluable at day 100, 59% of pts had ongoing response (CR 49%, PR 10%). At the time of abstract submission, more detailed patient characteristics and treatment course data were available in 134/165 pts infused. Median age was 59 (range 21-82) with 57% male. Performance status (PS) was ECOG 0-1 (81%), ECOG 2 (16%) and ECOG 3 (3%). By histology, 61% of pts had DLBCL including HGBCL, 31% had tFL and 8% PMBCL. Thirty-one percent had a prior autologous stem cell transplant. Bridging therapy between apheresis and infusion was given in 56% of patients, the majority of which consisted of chemotherapy. Sixty-six of 134 (49%) would not have met eligibility criteria for ZUMA-1 at the time of leukapheresis. Common criteria that would have made these patients ineligible for ZUMA-1 included ECOG PS >1 (n = 22), platelets <75k (n = 17), GFR <60 (n =12), active DVT/PE (n = 13), liver enzyme abnormalities (n = 10), a history of CNS lymphoma (n = 8), recent checkpoint inhibitor therapy (n = 7), ejection fraction <50% (n = 4), prior CD19 CAR T therapy (n = 4), and prior allogeneic transplant (n=2). Median time from leukapheresis to start of conditioning chemotherapy was 21 days and median time from leukapheresis to axi-cel infusion was 26 days. Median hospitalization period was 14 days. Conclusions This multicenter retrospective study delineates the real world outcomes of axi-cel CAR T-cell therapy for r/r aggressive B-cell lymphoma when used as a standard of care. Though limited by relatively short follow up, 30 day responses in the real world setting are comparable to the best responses observed on the pivotal ZUMA-1 clinical trial (Table 1). Importantly, safety appears comparable to the ZUMA-1 trial despite nearly half the pts failing to meet ZUMA-1 eligibility criteria. Updated results including PFS and OS will be presented at the meeting. L.J.N. and M.D.J. contributed equally; D.B.M., S.S.N. and F.L.L. contributed equally. Disclosures Nastoupil: Merck: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; TG Therappeutics: Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding; Genentech: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Juno: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria. Lunning:Celgene: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Portola: Consultancy; Genzyme: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Juno: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy. Reagan:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. McGuirk:Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Astellas Pharma: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Honoraria, Other: speaker, Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Other: travel accommodations, expenses, speaker ; Pluristem Ltd: Research Funding. Deol:Novartis: Consultancy; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Hill:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Andreadis:Gilead: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Employment; Astellas: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Juno: Research Funding; Kite: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding. Munoz:Pfizer: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Juno: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Alexion: Consultancy; Gilead: Speakers Bureau. Westin:Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Apotex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Vose:Kite Pharma: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding; Legend Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.: Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria; Epizyme: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Incyte Corp.: Research Funding. Miklos:Genentech: Research Funding; Kite - Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics - Abbot: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding. Locke:Kite Pharma: Other: Scientific Advisor; Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy; Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Other: Scientific Advisor.

Abstract Background: Axi-cel is a US FDA-approved, autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma with ≥ 2 prior systemic therapies. This report focuses on high-risk patient populations as well as long-term durability of response, and B cell recovery. Methods: In ZUMA-1, eligible patients with refractory large B cell lymphoma (diffuse large B cell lymphoma, primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma, transformed follicular lymphoma) underwent leukapheresis and received low-dose conditioning followed by a target dose of 2 × 106 anti-CD19 CAR T cells/kg (Neelapu and Locke et al. NEJM. 2017; NCT02348216). Outcomes in patients with double-expressor B cell lymphoma (MYC [≥ 40%] and BCL-2 [≥ 50%] protein expression by immunohistochemistry [IHC]) or high-grade B cell lymphoma (HGBCL), defined as double- or triple-hit (MYC+ and BCL2+ and/or BCL6+ by fluorescence in situ hybridization) or not otherwise specified (MYC- and > 70% Ki67 by IHC) were examined by independent pathology review. Exploratory analyses, including normal B cell levels in peripheral blood over time and frequency of use of safety interventions of interest, were also performed. A long-term follow-up analysis will be conducted with a data cutoff of August 11, 2018 for all 108 patients, including the HGBCL subgroup. Results: As of August 11, 2017, all 108 patients had at least 1 year of follow-up, with a median follow-up of 15.4 months. The objective response rate (ORR) was 82% with a complete response (CR) rate or 58%. The CR rate was 53% (29/55) in patients with disease refractory to ≥ 2 consecutive prior lines of therapy and 72% (18/25) in patients who had relapsed within 12 months after autologous stem cell transplantation. High-risk genetics were assessed in the 47 evaluable pre-treatment tumor samples: 37 patients (79%) had HGBCL or double-expressor B cell lymphoma and had an ORR of 89% (33/37) including a CR rate of 68% (25/37). Forty-two percent of patients overall had ongoing responses with a median follow-up of 15.4 months including 49% (18/37) of patients with high-risk genetics. To investigate the relationship between B cell recovery and ongoing response, B cell levels were assessed over time. Overall, of the 87 evaluable patients, 47% had no detectable B cells at baseline, and the remainder had levels close to or below the lower level of quantification of the assay. In patients with ongoing responses at 12 months post axi-cel infusion, 19 of the 35 (54%) patients with evaluable samples had detectable B cells at 12 months. This suggests B cell recovery in some patients with ongoing response as only 6 of 40 (15%) patients with evaluable samples had detectable B cells at 3 months after axi-cel infusion. Grade ≥ 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic events (NE) were generally reversible and reported for 12% and 31% of patients, respectively. Tocilizumab (45%) and/or steroids (28%) were used for the management of CRS and NE. The use of vasopressors, dialysis, and intubation were minimal, used in only 17%, 3%, and 3% of patients, respectively. Thirty-four percent of patients (37/108) had either no CRS/NE (6%) or only Grade 1 CRS with (12%) or without (16%) Grade 1 NE. For these 37 patients, the median onset of CRS and NE was 2 and 7 days after infusion, respectively. Patients with Grade 0 - 1 CRS/NE had similar efficacy (ORR, 86%; CR, 65%) but lower peak/AUC CAR T cell levels vs the overall population. Updated safety and efficacy results will be presented with a minimum follow-up of 2 years and a median follow-up of 27.1 months. Conclusion: High rates of durable response were observed in patients with HGBCL and double-expressor B cell lymphoma, with approximately half of these patients (18/37) maintaining CR at ≥ 1 year. Efficacy in these high-risk populations was comparable to the overall patient population in ZUMA-1. At 12 months, B-cell recovery was observed in over half the patients with ongoing remission. About one-third of patients had only Grades 0 - 1 CRS/NE yet showed comparable efficacy with the overall patient population. High-grade CRS/NE were largely managed with tocilizumab and steroids with very low use of intensive or invasive interventions. Updated outcomes with a minimum of 2 years of follow-up will be presented. Disclosures Neelapu: Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Cellectis: Research Funding; Poseida: Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Karus: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Unum Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Miklos:Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics - Abbot: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite - Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Hill:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Deol:Novartis: Consultancy; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Reagan:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Flinn:Agios: Research Funding; Forty Seven: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Calithera: Research Funding; Portola: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding; Forma: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Verastem: Research Funding; BeiGene: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; ArQule: Research Funding; Constellation: Research Funding; Infinity: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Curis: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding. McSweeney:Kite, a Gilead Company: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Munoz:Alexion: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria; Juno: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy. Siddiqi:Juno Therapeutics: Other: Steering committee. Herrera:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; Merck, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; KiTE Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding. Xue:Kite, a Gilead Company: Employment. Jiang:Kite, a Gilead Company: Employment. Bot:KITE: Employment. Rossi:KITE: Employment. Kim:Kite, a Gilead Company: Employment. Go:KITE: Employment. Locke:Cellular BioMedicine Group Inc.: Consultancy; Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Other: Scientific Advisor; Kite Pharma: Other: Scientific Advisor.

Abstract Background Age has long been recognized as a poor prognostic factor in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and more recently, a lower baseline quality of life (QOL) in patients with aggressive lymphomas has been associated with an inferior overall survival (OS) (Thompson et al, 2018). Older patients with DLBCL are a heterogeneous population and commonly have comorbid conditions. A concerted effort to identify prognostic factors specific to this population is needed, including QOL. Event free survival at 24 months (EFS24) is a well validated endpoint in DLBCL (Maurer et al, 2014) and is clinically relevant in older patients. We hypothesized that baseline clinical factors and QOL would be associated with EFS24 this patient group. Methods Newly diagnosed lymphoma patients were prospectively enrolled within 9 months of diagnosis into the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER). Patients ≥70 years of age with DLBCL were utilized in this study. All pathology was reviewed by a lymphoma hematopathologist. Clinical variables were abstracted from the medical record. QOL was assessed at enrollment using a single item Linear Analogue Self-Assessment (LASA) and the 27-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment-General questionnaire (FACT-G), which includes physical, social, emotional, and functional well-being domains. QOL scores were converted to a 0-100 scale to facilitate modeling. QOL was analyzed in patients who completed 80% of the FACT-G questions. Characteristics of the study population were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to estimate the associations of clinical and continuous QOL variables with failure to achieve EFS24 using logistic regression models, with a stepwise approach to identify parsimonious multivariate models. Results A total of 389 patients ≥70 years were identified with DLBCL in the MER from 2002-2015; patient characteristics are described in the Table. In the entire study population, univariate predictors of EFS24 failure included age (OR per 10 years=1.85, 95% CI: 1.26-2.71), ECOG PS ≥2 (OR=4.78, 95% CI: 2.92-7.83), elevated LDH (OR=3.59, 95% CI: 2.27-5.65), stage III-IV (OR=1.94, 1.25-3.02), bulky disease (OR=2.86, 95% CI: 1.43-5.72), international prognostic index (OR=8.71 for IPI 5 vs IPI 0, 95% CI: 3.04-24.9), and receipt of an anthracycline (OR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.12-0.51), while none of the other variables in the Table, including the QOL variables, were statistically significant. In a stepwise multivariate analysis, only ECOG PS ≥2 (OR= 3.56, 95% CI: 2.09-6.06) and elevated LDH (OR=2.86, 95% CI: 1.78-4.60) remained significant predictors of EFS24 failure. QOL data were available on 220 patients, with 120 completing QOL questionnaires prior to receipt of chemotherapy. Compared to participants who completed their FACT-G before the initiation of chemotherapy, the median FACT-G physical (85.7 v. 71.4, p=0.005) and functional (71.4 vs 57.1, p=0.008) scores were lower in participants completing FACT-G after initiation of therapy, were higher on FACT-G emotional (79.2 vs 83.3, p=0.03), and showed no differences on FACT-G social (89.3 vs 91.7, p=0.60) or FACT-G total score (78.2 vs 74.1, p=0.17). Given these differences, we restricted the QOL analysis to those with pre-treatment data. In univariate analysis, the LASA score (OR= 0.98, 95% CI: 0.84-1.14), the FACT-G total (OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.96-1.01), physical (OR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00), social (OR=1.00, 95% CI: 0.98-1.03), emotional (OR= 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98-1.02), and functional (OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.98-1.01) scores were not associated with EFS24 failure. In a stepwise multivariate analysis of clinical variables in patients with pretreatment QOL scores, only ECOG PS ≥2 (OR=3.56, 95% CI: 1.30-9.72) and female sex (OR=0.37, 95% CI: 0.16-0.85) were associated with failure to achieve EFS24. Conclusions In patients aged 70 years and older, ECOG PS and LDH were the strongest independent predictors of failure to achieve EFS24. As expected, physical and functional scores were lower in patients who completed their QOL after initiation of treatment. Restricting the analysis to patients with pre-treatment data, QOL was not associated with failure to achieve EFS24. Additional studies are needed to identify the most robust clinical predictors of EFS24, while QOL does not appear to be an important predictor of EFS24. Disclosures Reagan: Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Maurer:Morphosys: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Nanostring: Research Funding. Cerhan:Celgene: Research Funding; Nanostring: Research Funding; Jannsen: Other: Scientific Advisory Board.

Abstract Background: Patients (pts) with refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have poor outcomes with currently available therapies, with a complete response (CR) rate of 8%, a partial response (PR) rate of 18%, and median overall survival (OS) of 6.6 months (mo) as demonstrated in the 635 pt SCHOLAR-1 meta-analysis (Crump, ASCO 2016; abstract 7516). ZUMA-1 is the first multicenter trial of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in refractory, aggressive NHL (NCT02348216). The phase 1 portion of ZUMA-1 showed ongoing CRs at 12+ mos in 43% of pts (Locke, ESMO 2016; abstract 1048O). The pivotal phase 2 portion of ZUMA-1 comprises 2 cohorts based on tumor type: DLBCL (cohort 1) and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma or transformed follicular lymphoma (cohort 2). Here, we present results of a prespecified interim analysis from cohort 1. Methods: Pts received a target dose of 2 × 106 anti-CD19 CAR T cells/kg after a low-dose conditioning regimen of cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2) and fludarabine (30 mg/m2) daily for 3 days. The primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) per 2007 IWG criteria. Key secondary endpoints include duration of response, frequency of adverse events (AEs), and levels of CAR T cells and serum cytokines. Key inclusion criteria include age ≥18 years, ECOG performance status (PS) 0-1, and refractory disease defined as progressive disease or stable disease as best response to last line of therapy, or disease progression ≤12 mos after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). Pts must have received a prior anti-CD20 antibody and an anthracycline-containing regimen. A prespecified interim analysis was to be conducted to determine early efficacy with a nominal alpha level of 0.017 in 50 treated pts in cohort 1 with a minimum follow-up of 3 mos. Results: In total, 111 pts from 22 institutions were enrolled and leukapheresed, and 101 pts received KTE-C19. As of August 24, 2016, 51 pts in cohort 1 were eligible for analysis. Median age was 58 years (range, 25-76), 73% were male, 71% had ECOG PS 1, 78% were refractory to ≥2 lines of therapy, 20% relapsed ≤12 mos of ASCT, and 61% were treated with ≥3 lines of prior therapy. KTE-C19 was successfully manufactured in 99% of pts enrolled. Average turnaround time from apheresis to receipt of KTE-C19 at the clinical site was 17.4 days. With an ORR of 76%, the study met the primary endpoint (P<0.0001; exact binomial test comparing observed ORR to a historical control assumption of 20%), with 47% CRs and 29% PRs. 92% of responses occurred within the 1st mo, and 39% of pts had ongoing responses (CR in 33%) at 3 mos. Responses were seen across key covariates, including refractory subgroup (refractory to chemotherapy=76%, relapse post ASCT=80%). Kaplan-Meier estimates of progression-free survival at 1 and 3 mos were 92% and 56%, respectively. The most common grade ≥3 treatment-emergent AEs were neutropenia (67%), anemia (39%), thrombocytopenia (29%), febrile neutropenia (27%), and encephalopathy (24%). Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic events occurred in 20% and 29% of pts, respectively. There was 1 grade 5 KTE-C19-related event of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. CAR T cells expanded within 14 days of KTE-C19 infusion, and peak expansion was associated with ongoing response at mo 3 (P=0.008). Pts who developed grade ≥3 neurological events had increased serum levels of IL-15 (P=0.0002), IL-6 (P=0.003); IL-10 (P=0.009) and IP-10 (P=0.0003). Cytokines/chemokines returned to baseline levels in most pts by day 28. Data from 93 pts with at least 1 mo of follow-up at the data cutoff will be presented. Conclusions: ZUMA-1 is the first reported multicenter trial of CAR T cell therapy in pts with refractory aggressive NHL. KTE-C19 induced a nearly 6-fold higher CR rate compared to historical outcomes in SCHOLAR-1. Efficacy strongly associated with peak CAR T levels. Central manufacturing, logistics, and AE management were successfully implemented across 22 sites, most with no prior CAR T therapy experience. Results from cohort 2 of ZUMA-1 are also presented (Abstract #998). KTE-C19 demonstrated significant clinical benefit in pts with no curative treatment options. Supported in part by funding from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program®. Drs Neelapu and Locke contributed equally to this study. Disclosures Neelapu: Kite Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Locke:Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Miklos:pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding. Jacobson:Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Siddiqi:Pharmacyclics: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Speakers Bureau. Lin:Mayo Clinic: Employment; Janssen: Research Funding. Timmerman:Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kite Pharma, Valor Biopharmaceuticals, Janssen: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics, Genmab, Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria. Goy:COTA: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen/Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Research funding for clinical trials through institution, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Research funding for clinical trials through institution; Acerta: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Other: Research funding for clinical trials through institution. Smith:Abbvie: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria. Deol:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Avivi:Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical center: Consultancy, Other: consultancy to :BMS Roche. Westin:Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Spectrum: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ProNAi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Chavez:Janssen: Speakers Bureau. Levy:Kite Pharma: Consultancy; Five Prime Therapeutics: Consultancy; Innate Pharma: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; Corvus: Consultancy; Dynavax: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding. Reagan:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Bot:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Rossi:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Navale:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Jiang:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Aycock:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Elias:Kite: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wiezorek:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership. Go:Kite Pharma: Employment, Equity Ownership.

7512 Background: Outcomes in activated B cell subtype diffuse large B cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL) and r-NHL are poor (Sehn Blood 2015, Crump ASCO 2016). ZUMA-1 is the first, multicenter trial of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, axi-cel, in r-NHL. Methods: Dosing and eligibility were per Neelapu ASH 2016. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints were duration of response (DOR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Cell of origin (COO) and CD19 status were assessed centrally using Lymphoma Subtyping Test NanoString (Wallden JCO 2015) and a validated immunohistochemistry assay, respectively. Results: As of Jan 27, 2017, 111 patients (pts) were enrolled; the manufacturing success rate was 99% with an average 17-d turnaround time; 101 pts (modified intent-to-treat [mITT] population) received axi-cel. In the mITT population, the ORR was 82% (complete response [CR], 54%). With 8.7 m median follow-up, 44% remain in response and 39% in CR. The median DOR was 8.1 m and not reached (NR) for pts with CR. Median OS was NR. Results for clinical and biologic covariates are listed in the table. In pts who received tocilizumab (n = 43) and/or steroids (n = 27) for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and/or neurologic events (NE), ORR was 84% and 78%, respectively. Most common grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) were neutropenia (66%), leukopenia (44%), anemia (43%), febrile neutropenia (31%), thrombocytopenia (24%), and encephalopathy (21%). Rates of grade ≥3 CRS and NE were 13% and 28%, respectively. There were 3 grade 5 AEs (Neelapu ASH 2016). Conclusions: Axi-cel induced an ORR of 82% in pts with r-NHL, response is ongoing in 44% of pts at 8.7 m. Similar clinical responses were observed in pts with r-ABC-DLBCL. AEs were manageable and the use of tocilizumab/steroids did not appear to impact ORR. Drs Locke and Neelapu contributed equally. Funding source: Kite Pharma and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program Clinical trial information: NCT02348216. [Table: see text]