EBMT and EHA released the third call for retrospective research proposals within the Scientific Excellence Work Package of the GoCART Coalition in August.
The aim of the call is to promote the use of existing Registry data and other sources of Real-World Data and to strengthen collaborations across stakeholders in the field of CAR T-cell therapies.
The selection committee was composed by Prof Anna Sureda (President of the EBMT), Prof Christian Chabannon (Past Chair EBMT Cellular Therapies and Immunobiology Working Party), Prof Chiara Bonini (Board Member of EHA), Prof Martin Dreyling (Board Member of EHA) and Natacha Bolaños (Chair EBMT Patient Advocacy Committee).
This third call for retrospective research proposals has been very competitive; out of the 10 scientific projects that were presented, two have been selected by the selection committee:
The Role of Bridging Therapy before CAR-T Cell Therapy in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma: An Analysis of the Lymphoma Working Party of the EBMT
Philipp Berning1, Michael Oertel2, Imke E. Karsten1, Maud Ngoya3, Anna Ossami Saidy4, Anna Sureda5, Hans Theodor Eich2, Georg Lenz1, Bertram Glass4, Norbert Schmitz5
1 Department of Medicine A, Hematology, Oncology and Pneumology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
2 Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
3 European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Hôpital St. Antoine, Paris, France.
4 Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Helios Clinic, Berlin-Buch, Germany.
5 Hematology Department, Institut Català d'Oncologia Hospitalet, IDIBELL, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Impact of Prior B-Cell-Directed Immunotherapy on the Outcome of CD19 CAR-T cell Therapy in Aggressive B-cell Malignancies
Jan C. Schröder, Lucas Mix, Claudia Lengerke and Wolfgang A. Bethge
Department for Hematology, Oncology, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Big congratulations to the winners! Results of these analyses will certainly advance the field of cellular therapy.
Scientific research on gene and cellular therapies increased substantially over the last years. With Real World Data becoming increasingly available, many scientific questions, from different perspectives, can be explored. GoCART wants to maximise the use of data collected in the central EBMT Registry as well as data available to other stakeholders, and to facilitate further collaboration between stakeholders.
The 10 proposals were evaluated against four criteria: scientific impact, novelty, collaboration across stakeholders and feasibility of the proposal. EBMT will economically support the selected studies by providing dedicated personnel resources - the GoCART study team comprised of a study coordinator, data manager and statisticians - to conduct the studies in a prioritised manner.
There will be more opportunities in the future for interested researchers in the field. Please stay tuned for the next call in 2024!