SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1611984
This article is part of the Research TopicChimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapies and Bispecific Antibodies in Hematologic MalignanciesView all articles
CAR T-Cells vs. Bispecific Antibodies as Third-or Later-Line Treatment for Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
Ying He
Ling Qiu
Dan ChenShi-Hui RenYa-Xin XiongMeng-Jiao Li
Bai-tao DouYan-Ling LiYa-Li Cen
Yun-ming Li
Hao Yao*
Fang-yi Fan- General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Western Theater, Chengdu, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Our meta-analysis suggests that CAR T-cell therapy demonstrates a trend towar d improved efficacy outcomes compared to bispecific antibodies (BsAb) in R/R FL, with higher response rates and longer PFS. However, this observed advan tage must be interpreted cautiously due to potential confounders, including imb alances in baseline tumor burden, prior treatment lines, refractoriness to prior t herapy, and variations in bridging therapy protocols across studies. Notably, C AR T-cell therapy was associated with a higher incidence of severe adverse ev ents, particularly neurotoxicity. These findings indicate that while CAR T-cell t herapy represents a promising therapeutic strategy, its comparative benefits requ ire validation in studies with matched risk populations and standardized protoco ls. Future research should prioritize risk-adapted treatment selection and toxicity mitigation strategies for high-risk cohorts.
Keywords: CAR T-cell therapy, BSAB, relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, efficacy, Safety, cytokine release syndrome, Neurotoxicity
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, Qiu, Chen, Ren, Xiong, Li, Dou, Li, Cen, Li, Yao and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hao Yao, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Western Theater, Chengdu, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.