LYSA (the lymphoma research group) has just launched the 1st French academic study of CAR-T cells. Named ALYCANTE, this study is coordinated by Professor Roch Houot from Rennes University Hospital and Dr. François Lemonnier from the Henri Mondor Hospital in collaboration with the Kite/Gilead laboratory. A first patient at Lille University Hospital has just been included in this study, kicking off this French “first”.
ALYCANTE will evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of a treatment using CAR-T cells in patients with relapsed aggressive B-cell lymphoma after a first line of treatment, i.e. following a 2nd relapse. This treatment specifically relates to people deemed too old or frail to receive an autologous transplant, which is the standard treatment in the event of a relapse.
This study will also enable researchers to assess the impact of these treatments on patients’ quality of life and to improve knowledge of their mechanisms of action thanks to biological studies, which will be carried out on blood and tumour samples.
The study will be conducted in around twenty centres including Rennes and Nantes University Hospitals.