Photo Credit: Freepick

The following is a summary of “BCMA CAR-T therapy as salvage therapy in patients with plasmablastic myeloma,” published in the March 2025 issue of Hematology by Jin et al. 

Plasmablastic myeloma (PBM) is an aggressive multiple myeloma variant with poor prognosis. 

Researchers conducted a prospective study on B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy in PBM to assess efficacy and safety.  

They analyzed 6 patients with PBM diagnosed between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Patients received BCMA single-target or BCMA/CD19 dual-target CAR-T therapy, with some undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The median age was 55.5 years (range, 41–63), and 4 had high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities. 

The results showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 83.3%, with 4 of 6 achieving complete response or better and 3 of 6 achieving stringent complete response. About 2 had progression-free survival (PFS) of at least 6 months, 1 died from pulmonary infection, and 4 died from disease progression. All had cytokine release syndrome (CRS), with 3 experiencing grades 3–4 and 2 had grade 1–2 neurotoxicity. No CRS-related deaths occurred. 

Investigators found BCMA CAR-T therapy safe and effective for PBM, with controllable toxicity. Future research explored its use in combination regimens. 

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078454.2025.2481555