Kite Pharma announced its most recent real-world data for its CAR-T cell therapy Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL). LBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma globally, and on average 30 to 40% of patients will have their cancer relapse or become refractory, requiring a second line of treatment.
Shared at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the study looked at the difference in results between inpatients and outpatients and found comparable safety and efficacy.
Fateeha Furqan from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead investigator on the trial, commented on the advantages of administering the therapy to outpatients rather than having them stay in hospital.
She said: “Outpatient administration of axi-cel has cost-effective advantages over inpatient treatment, including less burden on hospitals. These clinical results reflect the fact that the knowledge and experience needed to safely administer the therapy has only grown since axi-cel was first approved in 2017.”
The study used data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) registry. It included 75 treatment centres and looked at 119 inpatients and 119 outpatients.
Median follow-up was 12 months and saw no general differences in adverse events such as cytokine release syndrome, neurologic events, or neurotoxicity. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of outpatients did not require a hospital visit 30 days after administration, 3 days after treatment, this figure was half.
Dominique Tonelli, Vice President and Global Head of Medical Affairs at Kite said: “We are confident that these promising results will help inform providers to expand the number of patients who can achieve the curative potential of a one-time treatment with Yescarta.”
