Angela Krackhard – VJRegenMed

Targeting neoantigens in multiple myeloma with CAR T-cell

Simon Ng — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:18:09 +0000

Anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies such as ciltacabtagene autoleucel and idecabtagene vicleucel have made a positive impact on the treatment landscape of multiple myeloma. However, tumor heterogeneity, antigen escape and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment are barriers CAR T-cell therapies currently face. Angela Krackhard, MD, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, describes research on neoantigens and its benefits. As neoantigens are only found in the tumor, off-target effects such as B-cell aplasia and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) are reduced. Utilizing alternative targets such as SLAMF7 and CD38, as well as bispecific CAR T-cells represent novel strategies to optimize immunotherapies for multiple myeloma. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Moving CAR T-cell therapies to earlier lines of therapy in multiple myeloma

Simon Ng — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:18:07 +0000

Angela Krackhard, MD, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, comments on the impact of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) in the multiple myeloma treatment landscape. Cilta-cel is chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with two recognition epitopes that target B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and had displayed encouraging results for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, especially in those who progress from proteosome inhibitors and anti-CD38 antibodies. It additionally is being assessed in earlier settings, especially due to the heterogeneity of the disease. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Developing individualized cancer therapies with neoantigen-specific TCRs

Simon Ng — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 12:51:14 +0000

Angela Krackhard, MD, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, provides an overview of targeting neoantigens specifically expressed on tumors with T-cell receptors (TCRs). Proteogenomic analysis consisting of deep sequencing analysis and mass spectrometry detected novel neoantigens and were validated with patient-derived T-cells. Further analysis revealed certain T-cell receptors that can be restimulated in a shorter amount of time as a result of a lower activation threshold. Prof. Krackhard also describes the differential transcription profile of these T-cells and other highly activated T-cells, as well as their therapeutic potential. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

Improving immune-imaging tools to assess cancer immunotherapies

Simon Ng — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 12:51:12 +0000

Angela Krackhard, MD, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, discusses challenges in utilizing non-invasive immune-imaging tools as predictive and surrogate markers. Whilst assessing minimal disease residue (MRD) in multiple myeloma is well established, imaging T-cell activity and subsequent tumor regression is limited for immunotherapies. Measuring CD8 activity without T-cell depletion is important and fragmented antibodies can examine the extent of T-cell infiltration in the tumor. Prof. Krackhard also describes using these imaging techniques to detect tumor flare reaction (TFR) and pseudoprogression, which can normally hamper response evaluation. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022