Invited Speakers Eradicate Cancer 2018

Transposon CAR T-cells for Relapsed Leukaemia and Lymphoma (#9)

Kenneth Micklethwaite 1
  1. Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells targeting CD19 (CAR19 T-cells) are revolutionising the treatment of relapsed and refractory B-cell leukaemia and lymphoma.  High rates of remission in otherwise incurable tumours has led to the recent approval of two CAR19 T-cell products for routine use in young patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and adults with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. However, many challenges to widespread use remain, including distribution and cost of a highly personalised product. We have developed a very simple, inexpensive procedure for the production of CAR19 T-cells using the PiggyBac Transposon system of gene modification. We are testing the clinical safety and efficacy of these PiggyBac CAR19 T-cells in a series of clinical trials. The use of our simplified protocol may enable localised CAR19 T-cell production at suitable facilities, hastening the widespread adoption of CAR19 T-cells as standard therapy for patients with relapsed B-cell malignancies in Australia.