Survival outcomes and efficacy of autologous CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy in the patient with diagnosed hematological malignancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: Chimeric Antigen Receptor T(CAR-T) cell therapy is an immunotherapy approach used in treating cancer which has seen rapid development over the decades. It becomes the preferred treatment choice after patients have failed conventional chemotherapy. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis in 320 patients from 14 studies to estimate the survival outcome, response rate and toxicity of autologous CD19 CAR-T cell therapy and predict other factors associated with a better prognosis. Results: The overall response rate was 71.88% (95% CI: 61.34-80.46%, p<0.01) and CRS toxicity was 60.15% (95% CI: 42.87-75.22%, p<0.01). Patients who received lymphodepletion was associated with a better response rate (77%, 95% CI: 67-83%; p-value = 0.001) in comparison to the other patients who did not (66%, 95% CI: 41-83%). Conclusion: Lymphodepletion regimen may play a crucial role in predicting the prognosis of patients with hematological malignancies. Lymphodepletion patients had better progression-free survival than those who did not.