Long-Term (≥5-Year) Remission and Survival After Treatment With Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel in CARTITUDE-1 Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

J Clin Oncol. 2025 Sep;43(25):2766-2771. doi: 10.1200/JCO-25-00760. Epub 2025 Jun 3.

Abstract

CARTITUDE-1 evaluated ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) in patients with heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We describe overall survival (OS), ≥5-year progression-free outcomes, associated biomarkers, and safety, with a median study follow-up of 61.3 months. For the 97 treated patients, median OS was 60.7 months (95% CI, 41.9 to not estimable). One third (32/97) of patients remain alive and progression-free for ≥5 years after a single cilta-cel infusion, without maintenance treatment. Twelve of these patients treated at a single center underwent serial minimal residual disease (MRD) and positron emission tomography-computed tomography assessments, and all (100%) were MRD-negative (at least 10-5 threshold) and imaging-negative at year 5 or later after cilta-cel. Baseline characteristics, including the presence of high-risk cytogenetics and extramedullary disease, were generally comparable for the 32 patients who were progression-free for ≥5 years versus patients who had progressive disease by year 5. A trend of lower baseline tumor burden, higher fraction of naïve T-cells in the cilta-cel drug product, higher T cell-to-neutrophil ratio, higher hemoglobin and platelets at baseline, and higher effector-to-target ratio were associated with ≥5-year progression-free status. The safety profile of cilta-cel remained consistent with previous reports. To our knowledge, our data provide the first evidence that cilta-cel is potentially curative in patients with RRMM.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548207.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy, Adoptive* / adverse effects
  • Immunotherapy, Adoptive* / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Myeloma* / drug therapy
  • Multiple Myeloma* / immunology
  • Multiple Myeloma* / mortality
  • Multiple Myeloma* / pathology
  • Multiple Myeloma* / therapy
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Remission Induction

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03548207