How do you choose between liso-cel and axi-cel in patients with early relapse DLBCL for whom you are recommending CAR T-cell therapy?

Axi-cel and liso-cel are anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products approved for primary refractory or early relapsed (<1 year from initial chemoimmunotherapy) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Both products exhibit excellent efficacy (overall response rates >80%) and are potenti...

Lisocabtagene maraleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel are both FDA-approved in the 2nd-line setting for patients with DLBCL that is primary refractory or relapsing within 12 months of completing frontline therapy. They were both shown to have a significant event-free survival benefit over salvage che...

I tend to choose Axi-cel in patients with more aggressive disease, especially primary refractory disease with progression evident on interim or end-of-treatment imaging, young(er) patients, for the following reasons: more reliable manufacturing and higher toxicity compared to Liso-Cel.