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Objectives: Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of hematologic malignancies. However, most of the patients suffered from relapsed/refractory disease. We would like to expand CAR T cell therapy to treat MM using our current platform. Methods: BCMA CAR T lymphocytes were generated for volunteers or MM patients. The transduction efficiency was detected by the ddPCR technique. Immunophenotyping and exhaustion markers were monitored by flow cytometry. The efficacy of BCMA CAR T cells was tested using coculturing with BCMA CAR or mock, and the positive and negative targets, K562/hBCMA‐ECTM and K562, respectively. Results: BCMA CAR T cells were generated from consented volunteers or MM patients and could be detected CAR BCMA expression at a mean of 4.07 ± 1.95 or 4.65 ± 1.21 copies/cell, respectively. Those modified T cells were primarily effector memory T cells. Our BCMA CAR T cells could explicitly eradicate the K562/hBCMA‐ECTM cell line while the K562 cell line survived. Interestingly, the BCMA CAR, mock T cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from MM patients expressed similar levels of the exhaustion makers, TIM‐3, LAG‐3, and PD1. Conclusions: Our BCMA CAR T cells, mainly effector/effector memory, could eliminate BCMA‐expressing cells in vitro and had similar levels of exhaustion markers among different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Patients with high‐risk hematologic diseases require intensive modalities, including high‐dose chemotherapy and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT). Haploidentical T‐cell–replete transplantation is a logical choice because of the limited availability of matched sibling donors and the prolonged time needed to identify matched unrelated donors in Thailand. Methods: The clinical outcomes data of 43 patients undergoing allo‐HSCT were reviewed. All patients had high‐risk hematologic malignancies, were younger than 20 years, and were in complete cytological remission at the time of allo‐HSCT. We used two different conditioning regimens: total body irradiation (TBI) combined with cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and melphalan (n = 23) and thiotepa combined with fludarabine and busulfan (n = 20). All patients received a graft‐versus‐host disease prophylaxis regimen consisting of cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, and a calcineurin inhibitor or sirolimus. Results: There was no difference in engraftment between patients receiving either of the regimens. After a median follow‐up of 35.8 (range, 0.6–106.2) months, the overall survival (OS) and event‐free survival (EFS) rates were 62.4% and 54.7%, respectively. OS and EFS were comparable between the respective regimens. Conclusions: We conclude that thiotepa‐based conditioning has similar efficacy and tolerability as TBI‐based conditioning for haploidentical HSCT with post‐transplant cyclophosphamide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]