This trial is one of few CAR trials exclusively focused on applying anti-CD19 CAR T cells to the allogeneic transplantation setting. This trial is significant because unlike most trials of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors, it does not include chemotherapy, so it gives a pure assessment of the activity of the anti-CD19 CAR T cells. We continue recruit more patients for this trial. We are obtaining important information on toxicity and predictors of successful therapy with each patient. A paper covering this trial (Brudno et al.) was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2016. The project is now focused on testing less-differentiated T cells called stem memory T cells (Ttscm) transduced with an anti-CD19 CAR. In this effort, we are currently collaborating with another ETIB Investigator, Luca Gattinoni, in developing a process for administering allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR stem memory T cells. The cell production process for Tscm cells has been put in place, and we have treated the first 2 patients with anti-CD19 CAR Tscm cells on this clinical trial. One patient obtained a response of stable disease after her lymphoma was treated with these anti-CD19 CAR Tscm cells. The second patient, with acute lymphoid leukemia, obtained a complete remission. We will continue to treat more patients and to carry out extensive correlative studies of patient samples from this clinical trial
