Axicabtagene ciloleucel for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma – second-line

Axicabtagene ciloleucel is in clinical development as second-line treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). DLBCL is a cancer affecting a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes or B-cells. DLBCL is an aggressive cancer and although it can be cured in more than half of people affected, it remains a serious and life threatening disease. A relapse is when the lymphoma comes back after successful treatment and refractory means the lymphoma did not respond to the first course of treatment.
Axicabtagene ciloleucel contains the patient’s own T-cells (a type of white blood cell) that have been modified genetically in the laboratory so that they make a protein called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). CAR can attach to another protein on the surface of cancer cells and kill the cancer cells. If licensed, axicabtagene ciloleucel will offer an additional second-line treatment option for adult patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL.