CAR T Cells Contend with Myeloma in the Bone Marrow Microenvironment

In this issue of Blood Cancer Discovery, Dhodapkar and colleagues find that myeloid, dendritic, and endogenous T-cell populations in the bone marrow microenvironment are associated with progression-free survival (PFS) in multiple myeloma patients responding to B-cell maturation antigen-targeted CAR T cells. Immunosuppressive myeloid cells are associated with short PFS, but a diverse T-cell receptor repertoire and more dendritic cells are associated with a longer PFS, suggesting a potential role for epitope spreading. See related article by Dhodapkar et al., p. 490 (6).