Atlantic Health System Public Relations Department
Luke Margolis
Four of the five posters presented by Mohamad Cherry, MD demonstrated the value of (CAR) T-cell therapy for the treatment of blood cancers
MORRISTOWN, N.J., January 26, 2023 – Atlantic Health System’s Mohamad Cherry, MD, Medical Director, Hematology/Oncology and Medical Director, Atlantic Cellular Therapy Program, recently presented several co-authored studies at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 64th Annual Meeting, the world’s pre-eminent gathering of clinicians and researches focused on blood diseases. The studies demonstrated the powerful impact new strategies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, can have on the treatment of blood cancers.
Two of the poster presentations evaluated luxeptinib, an oral medicine targeting the cellular mutations FLT3 and BTK, which are involved in the growth and development of leukemia and lymphoma.
The first poster presented a phase 1a/b dose escalation study of luxeptinib in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with the primary objective to assess the safety and tolerability of luxeptinib, and determine the recommended phase 2 dose. This study concluded that luxeptinib was well tolerated at increasing dose levels up to 900 mg, twice daily over multiple cycles; without evidence of having reached the maximum tolerated dose. A second phase 1a/b dose escalation study of luxeptinib was also conducted in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. This study concluded that luxeptinib has a favorable safety profile in patients treated with 150 mg to 900 mg, twice daily over multiple cycles. Many patients who participated in the study received their treatment at Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center, one of only seven sites across the U.S. participating in the trial. Both trials will continue enrolling patients.
“We were very pleased to present insights that highlight the promise of luxeptinib as an agent for combating cancer, with some of the patients achieving complete remission with minimal residual disease (MRD) negative status,” said Dr. Cherry. “In treating these cancers, MRD negative status is the most powerful possible response, meaning that these patients achieved the best outcome from the experimental treatment.”
Additional posters presented by Dr. Cherry highlighted data around chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which leverages the body’s T-lymphocyte immune cells, altering them in a lab, empowering them to find, target and destroy cancer cells.
Those posters demonstrated data around treating patients with Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (Liso-cel) who are diagnosed with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). One of the posters presented positive results from a phase 2 study, which yielded an overall response rate of 83%, meaning that almost six out of seven patients treated had their tumors shrink significantly, if not totally resolve.
“This is a remarkable statistic, as the best historic chemotherapy, in comparison, achieves only a 33% response rate in the same patient population” said Dr. Cherry. “Our team is excited to be involved in this groundbreaking work exploring (CAR) T-cell therapy, which may someday replace older drugs and treatments.”
Dr. Cherry is a physician with Atlantic Hematology Oncology at the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center-Morristown Medical Center campus and the medical director of Atlantic Cellular Therapy, a program dedicated to investigating the next generation of (CAR) T and other cellular based treatments for cancer. Visit the Atlantic Health System website to learn more about the exciting research underway in cancer care and other specialties.
About Atlantic Health System Cancer Care
Atlantic Health System Cancer Care offers an unparalleled network of cancer specialists and resources for more than 70,500 patients annually through its flagship Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown and Overlook medical centers, as well as its comprehensive oncology programs at Chilton, Hackettstown and Newton medical centers. With more than 250 cancer specialists and medical professionals, all five hospitals and Atlantic Medical Group have been recognized nationally for their role in advancing the fight against cancer.
Atlantic Health System Cancer Care is the lead affiliate of Atlantic Health Cancer Consortium (AHCC) - the only New Jersey-based National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). Atlantic Health System is affiliated with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) of Phoenix, Arizona, and together they have created the Breakthrough Oncology Accelerator, a pioneering research and clinical collaboration designed to improve patient access to the most innovative and sophisticated therapies for cancer.
About Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of more than 18,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 12 counties and 6.2 million people. The not-for-profit system offers more than 400 sites of care, including its seven hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ and through its partnership with CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, NJ.
Atlantic Medical Group, comprised of 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, represents one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey and joins Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners as part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.
Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 23 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.
Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.
Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.