Compassionate access to virus-specific T cells for adoptive immunotherapy over 15 years

Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy holds great promise for the treatment of viral complications in immunocompromised patients resistant to standard anti-viral strategies. We present a retrospective analysis of 78 patients from 19 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand, treated over the last 15 years with "off-the-shelf" allogeneic T cells directed to a combination of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), BK polyomavirus (BKV), John Cunningham virus (JCV) and/or adenovirus (AdV) under the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration's Special Access Scheme. Most patients had severe post-transplant viral complications, including drug-resistant end-organ CMV disease, BKV-associated haemorrhagic cystitis and EBV-driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Adoptive immunotherapy is well tolerated with few adverse effects. Importantly, 46/71 (65%) patients show definitive clinical improvement including reduction in viral load, clinical symptoms and complete resolution of end-organ disease. In addition, seven high-risk patients remain disease free. Based on this long-term encouraging clinical experience, we propose that a dedicated nationally funded centre for anti-viral cellular therapies should be considered to provide T cell therapies for critically ill patients for compassionate use.

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Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-12-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54595-2
Citations
15
Primary Topic
Cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.80
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Compassionate access to virus-specific T cells for adoptive immunotherapy over 15 years

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article en
15 citations

Abstract

Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy holds great promise for the treatment of viral complications in immunocompromised patients resistant to standard anti-viral strategies. We present a retrospective analysis of 78 patients from 19 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand, treated over the last 15 years with "off-the-shelf" allogeneic T cells directed to a combination of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), BK polyomavirus (BKV), John Cunningham virus (JCV) and/or adenovirus (AdV) under the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration's Special Access Scheme. Most patients had severe post-transplant viral complications, including drug-resistant end-organ CMV disease, BKV-associated haemorrhagic cystitis and EBV-driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Adoptive immunotherapy is well tolerated with few adverse effects. Importantly, 46/71 (65%) patients show definitive clinical improvement including reduction in viral load, clinical symptoms and complete resolution of end-organ disease. In addition, seven high-risk patients remain disease free. Based on this long-term encouraging clinical experience, we propose that a dedicated nationally funded centre for anti-viral cellular therapies should be considered to provide T cell therapies for critically ill patients for compassionate use.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
Royal Adelaide Hospital (AU), The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU), Royal Children's Hospital (AU), The University of Queensland (AU), The University of Melbourne (AU), QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (AU), Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (AU), Royal North Shore Hospital (AU), Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (AU), Austin Hospital (AU), Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (AU), Fiona Stanley Hospital (AU), Princess Alexandra Hospital (AU), The Alfred Hospital (AU), Children's Hospital at Westmead (AU), Westmead Hospital (AU), UNSW Sydney (AU), St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (AU), St George Hospital (AU), Prince Charles Hospital (AU), Sydney Children's Hospital (AU), Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (AU), Perth Children's Hospital, The University of Notre Dame Australia (AU)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research
5.80
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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