Why Early Action Matters: Referrals and Screenings for Novel Cell Therapies

In an interview with Targeted Oncology^®, Christian S. Hinrichs, MD, co-director of the Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute, highlights the value of early referral and eligibility screenings for patients who may benefit from specialized cell therapies such as autologous tumor-infiltration lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy and engineered T cell receptor (TCR)-T cell therapy, offering insights for community physicians.

Watch part 1 and part 2 of Dr Hinrichs’ interview.

For patients who may be eligible for emerging novel cellular therapies, time is of the essence. Dr Hinrichs emphasizes the importance of early referral, as standard treatments for metastatic disease are not expected to be curative and diagnostic evaluation may be time-consuming. Initiating the qualification process early ensures that time is being utilized efficiently and options are lined up for the patient.

He also shares his personal perspective regarding the clinical rationale for moving these treatments earlier in the disease course, as treatments generally tend to perform better in earlier lines of therapy.

“It's somewhat remarkable that we've seen results as good as they are in our phase 2 trial [NCT05686226] in what is essentially or approaching a last line setting,” Dr Hinrichs notes in the interview.

Since these specialized treatments are designed as one-interventions, the field must strive to take these opportunities before the patient has exhausted all possibilities and before their performance status weakens, which affects their ability to safely participate and achieve a good result.

Regarding eligibility, especially for highly targeted treatments like Hinrichs’ phase 2 trial of TCR-T cell therapy, there is an inherent high screen-failure rate. For example, to participate in the trial, a patient must have a human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 genotype cancer as well as the HLA-A2 molecule, yielding an eligibility rate of only 20%–25%. Acknowledging these stringent molecular criteria and the initial discouragement it may bring to referring physicians, Dr Hinrichs reassures that academic centers running the trials are eager to evaluate potential patients, viewing it as “just part of doing business.”

To reduce the logistical burden of navigating complex eligibility criteria and specialized testing for referring physicians, institutions like Rutgers Cancer Institute are prepared to quickly connect with the referring physician or patient and gather the necessary information for determining eligibility.

Read the full interview here.